Squire Thomas Just Arrived
A young country squire has "just arrived" in London and is being pushed, pulled, and otherwise persuaded by three courtesans to enter The Old Calf's Head, Lodgings for Single Men, significantly run by a Mrs.(?) Fleecem, who may be the old bawd who looks on delightedly. Indeed, the fleecing process has already begun as the barefoot little girl in the ragged dress appears to be picking his pocket while the young Squire expresses his dismay at the "kind and tender usage" he is receiving.
© Trustees of the British Museum
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The little shoeblack boy seems to be a smaller version of Squire Thomas and equally dismayed. His wares have been overturned by the older girl--the open basket providing a visual echo of the displaced hat of the young squire and the restraining arm of the young girl, a mirror image of the kissing courtesan's.
The style of the print is very much Mortimer's, and the theme of the country bumpkin being taken advantage of by the city sophisticates is well worn. But the fact that the predators are all women is peculiarly Gillray's, and foreshadows a significant and undeniable misogyny in Gillray's work.
Sources and Reading
- Commentary on Squire Thomas Just Arrived from the British Museum
- Draper Hill, Fashionable Contrasts, 1966, #77
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