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The botching taylor cutting his cloth to cover a button / John Simpson aqua forti. – Vintage Wall Art

The botching taylor cutting his cloth to cover a button / John Simpson aqua forti., [London] : Publish'd by James Tomlinson Oxford Street, 1779 Decr. 27th. — historic print
The botching taylor cutting his cloth to cover a button / John Simpson aqua forti., [London] : Publish'd by James Tomlinson Oxford Street, 1779 Decr. 27th.. Historic print from the Historic Print Archive collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

This rare historic print captures The botching taylor cutting his cloth to cover a button / John Simpson aqua forti. in remarkable detail. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

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The botching taylor cutting his cloth to cover a button / John Simpson aqua forti.

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A bungling tailor, shears in hand, cuts a scrap of cloth too short to cover a button, and the print invites viewers to read him as the king's government. Published in London on December 27, 1779, by James Tomlinson of Oxford Street, the satire names George III, the Earl of Bute, and Lord North among its subjects. By then Britain had been fighting its American colonies for several years, and North's ministry faced sharp criticism for how that war was conducted. The title's "aqua fortis," the nitric acid used in etching, points to the engraver John Simpson and to the print's mix of mezzotint and etched line.

Created / published[London] : Publish'd by James Tomlinson Oxford Street, 1779 Decr. 27th.
Medium1 print : mezzotint with etching.
GenreCartoons (Commentary) British 1770-1780.Intaglio prints British 1770-1780.
NotesTitle from item. Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum. Division I, political and personal satires, v. 5, no. 5573 Forms part of: British Cartoon Prints Collection (Library of Congress). Published in: The American Revolution in drawings and prints; a checklist of 1765-1790 graphics in the Library of Congress / Compiled by Donald H. Cresswell, with a foreword by Sinclair H. Hitchings. Washington : [For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off.], 1975, no. 754.
SubjectsGeorge--III,--King of Great Britain,--1738-1820. Bute, John Stuart,--Earl of,--1713-1792. North, Frederick,--Lord,--1732-1792. Politics & government--England--1770-1780. Tailor shops--England--1770-1780. United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,536 × 1,344 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-122603

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