Politeness
Print
6/5/1807
6/5/1807
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This print is a satire on the concept of 'politeness', a mode of behaviour which was popularised in the eighteenth century, but which was regarded as old-fashioned by the time this print was published. A man enters a bedroom, fully dressed and holding a candle, to confront another man in bed with the former's wife. Their conversation parodies the excesses of politeness, with the first man asking 'I am sorry Sir to intrude in this abrubt manner - but do you know Sir you are in bed with my Wife?' The second man replies, 'Sir I beg you ten thousand pardons! Let me request you will be seated and she will be at your service in the course of half an hour!' The wife in question is barely seen under the bedcovers.
The dressed man carries a copy of 'Chesterfield's Letters' in his pocket - these were published in the 1770s and were taken as a model of polite behaviour. They were criticised by some for promoting manners over morals; an attitude which is in evidence here.
The dressed man carries a copy of 'Chesterfield's Letters' in his pocket - these were published in the 1770s and were taken as a model of polite behaviour. They were criticised by some for promoting manners over morals; an attitude which is in evidence here.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Politeness (published title) |
| Materials and techniques | Hand-coloured etching. |
| Brief description | Satirical print, 'Politeness' after George Moutard Woodward, London 1807 |
| Physical description | A bedroom scene, with an open door to the left. In the doorway stands an elderly man bearing a candle. In the bed, to the right, a man in a nightshirt sits upright, while a woman is barely visible under the covers, save for her nightcap. The woman's dress and stays are strewn on the floor. Unusually, the right-hand speech caption has been coloured the same purple as the background drapery, suggesting that this might have been coloured by an amateur rather than coloured before purchase. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Bequeathed by John Jones |
| Object history | Object originally bound in a guard-book containing one hundred and fifteen caricatures by T. Rowlandson, W. Heath, J. Gillray, R. Dighton, G. Cruikshank and others. |
| Summary | This print is a satire on the concept of 'politeness', a mode of behaviour which was popularised in the eighteenth century, but which was regarded as old-fashioned by the time this print was published. A man enters a bedroom, fully dressed and holding a candle, to confront another man in bed with the former's wife. Their conversation parodies the excesses of politeness, with the first man asking 'I am sorry Sir to intrude in this abrubt manner - but do you know Sir you are in bed with my Wife?' The second man replies, 'Sir I beg you ten thousand pardons! Let me request you will be seated and she will be at your service in the course of half an hour!' The wife in question is barely seen under the bedcovers. The dressed man carries a copy of 'Chesterfield's Letters' in his pocket - these were published in the 1770s and were taken as a model of polite behaviour. They were criticised by some for promoting manners over morals; an attitude which is in evidence here. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1232:57-1882 |
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| Record created | June 8, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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