Joseph Grimaldi established his name as the clown supreme in pantomime after appearing in the role at Covent Garden Theatre in Harlequin and Mother Goose in 1806. This print depicts him in the pantomime Harlequin & the Swans, or, The Bath of Beauty that opened at Covent Garden on Boxing Day 1813. Written by Charles Farley in 1813, the story concerned Prince Rinaldo, played by Bologna Junior, in love with Princess Zoe played by Mrs. Parker, who renewed her youth by bathing in the Bath of Beauty, but who was forced by her father to wear a veil that transformed her into a swan on the pool of beauty to escape ardent suitors. Other characters included King Maximo Rotundo, played by Mr. Norman, the court physician Dr. Tomble Tuzzy played by Joseph Grimaldi, and a rival suitor to Zoe, Prince Proteus, played by Tom Ellar.

In the Harlequinade Winifreda, the Fairy of the Swan's Pool, played by Miss Worgman, transformed Zoe and Rinaldo into Columbine and Harlequin, while the Fairy's rival, Goblin Glow Glimmer, played by the nine-year old Master Charles Parsloe, changed the King and the physician to Pantaloon and Clown, and Prince Proteus to a second Harlequin. The Harlequinade contained thirteen scees of the usual knockabout action and clever transformations, and featured a comic song by Grimaldi based on an incident from the Napoleonic wars.