Gin lane, from beer street and gin lane. A scene of urban desolation with gin-crazed londoners, notably a woman who lets her child fall to its death and an emaciated ballad-seller; in the background is the tower of st george's bloomsbury. The accompanying poem, printed on the bottom, reads:
gin, cursed fiend, with fury fraught,
makes human race a prey. It enters by a deadly draught
and steals our life away. Virtue and truth, driv'n to despair
its rage compells to fly,
but cherishes with hellish care
theft, murder, perjury. Damned cup! that on the vitals preys
that liquid fire contains,
which madness to the heart conveys,
and rolls it thro' the veins. Date: February 1751. Dimensions: height: 374 mm (14.72 in); width: 318 mm (12.51 in). Medium: etching and line engraving, line engraving on paper. Collection: British Museum. GinLane
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