A satire political ignorance set in a country barber-surgeon's shop in which the people have been given the heads of animals. At centre left, an old woman with the head of a cat, is being bled by a man with the head of an elephant whose hand is on her left breast, a monkey-headed boy holds a basin to catch the blood spurting from her arm. Behind them a man, with a boar's head wearing a work-apron reads from the grub street journal to a man with the head of an ass and a bell round his neck. In the centre a cat-man sitting on a barrel holding a shaving dish has his whiskers trimmed by a barber with an ape's head on top of which is a flamboyant hat with long feathers. An ape-man behind waits his turn, and a man with two wooden legs and a crutch leaves through an open door. Overhead on the left is a projecting sign from which hangs a board showing an owl beneath which is written "shave & bleed for a peny". Stuffed creatures hang from the ceiling: a grotesque fish, an eel with gaping moth, and an ape. The wall at the rear has been chalked with tallies and three wigs hang from it. A table in the foreground on the right has pulled teeth and various barbers' instruments on it. A hat with a large feather lies on the ground. Etching and engraving. Date: 1730-1745 (circa). Dimensions: Height: 370 mm; Width: 306 mm. Medium: paper. Collection: British Museum. Print, satirical print (BM 1866,0407.52)
Loading...
