A Spanking Dog day – & real melter in the country

George Hunt after M. Egerton
A spanking dog day- & real melter in the country.
London, t. McLean 1827
Etching with aquatint
Original hand colouring
290 x 210 mm
Trimmed within platemark
£160
A fat, gaily-dressed woman sits awkwardly on a milestone XI Mil[es]from Lon[don], in acute discomfort. Her head, in a huge flowered bonnet, is thrown back; she puffs, perspiration streaming. She has kicked off her shoes, slashed for gouty toes which are contorted by pain. Though backed by trees she faces the rays of an almost vertical sun. Umbrella and a bundle lie beside her. In the landscape background tiny figures chase a supposedly mad dog, the foremost aims a gun. (Cf. BM Satires 15050.) c.1825