Description: George, No. 12922 An elderly couple (l.), plainly dressed in a very old-fashioned manner, watch with shocked dismay an over-dressed Frenchwoman who takes by the wrist an equally over-dressed girl, making her curtsey, as she does herself. Their dresses are high-waisted, flounced, and vandyked, with neck-ruffles and short puffed sleeves. Both wear huge bonnets with erect cylindrical crowns, grotesquely trimmed, long gloves, each with a reticule dangling from the arm. A French servant in livery (r.) stands chapeau-bras, a band-box slung from his arm, shrugging his shoulders to express horrified surprise. A plainly dressed young girl standing behind her aunt grins in astonishment at the visitors. A dog and cat register hostility towards a cringing lap-dog shaved in the French manner, which is attached to the servant with a string. The room is panelled and carpeted with one side-table, and is probably a hall or ante-room in a country house. A dialogue is etched below the design. The young girl: "Well a-day Aunt! what Monstrosities are these?" The uncle: "In tha name of all that's Christian speak & say what you are, & where you come from, you Hottenpots...etc.
(from George, vol. IX)
Tags: caricatures; cartoons; clothing; costume; dress accessories; dresses; fashion; French; hats; humor; satire; social classes; social commentary; social interaction; text Link to share this object record: https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=AC+2006.19 |