The Industrious 'Prentice grown rich & Sherrif of London; Part of the series 'The Effects of Idleness and Industry'; Engraving print on paper; Designed and engraved by William Hogarth; English School; 1747.

The Industrious 'Prentice grown rich & Sherrif of London; Part of the series 'The Effects of Idleness and Industry'; Engraving print on paper.

This print represents Francis Goodchild and his wife as guests of honour at a City Banquet.
The setting has been identified as Fishmongers' Hall near London Bridge (demolished in 1827). The Hall has large windows, friezes, paintings and sculptures on the walls. On a balcony, several musicians are playing music.
Goodchild and his wife are seated, a mace and a sword stand by their chairs. Above hangs a picture of William III; in a niche between the windows is a statue of 'Sir William Walworth Kt', the man who fatally stabbed Wat Tyler, a peasant revolutionary.
A very long table with several people seated eating, occupies all the space.
Guests are served by a few servants carrying trays of food. To the left, a group of grotesque figures eat while being served by a young black servant who is holding a small tray with a glass goblet.
To the right several people are trying to get into the banquet hall but they are stopped by a officious beadle holding a card and a long staff. On the card is written: 'To the worship'd Fras Goodchild Es. Sher[iff] Londo[n].

Outside the picture on the right side of the print, there hangs a hangman's rope, a scourge and manacles; on the left side are a sword of state, the mace of the City of London and an alderman's chain.

Bequeathed by Rev. Alexander Dyce

The series 'Industry and Idleness' was created solely as a set of engravings. This differs to Hogarth's earlier works, such as 'Marriage a-la-Mode' (1743), which were usually painted first and then converted to engravings.

Attribution note: Plate 8 of a series of 12 prints.

This print, representing Francis Goodchild and his wife as guests of honour at a City banquet, is plate 8 of 'Industry and Idleness', a series of 12 engravings designed by Hogarth in 1747, expressly to teach the apprentice class of London those moral values associated with the middle class.

The series tells the story of an industrious apprentice and an idle apprentice. The series was aimed at apprentices, an audience Hogarth knew well, having been an apprentice himself. It sought to emphasise the virtues of honesty and hard work through the contrasting stories of Francis Goodchild, a young man who works hard, marries his master's daughter, takes over the business and rises to be Lord Mayor of London, and Tom Idle, who ignores responsibilities, indulges his vices, commits murder and is executed.

Printed in cheap paper and sold at all the print shop, Industry and Idleness was purchased by masters and hung for the edification of their apprentices.

DYCE.2766