Satire on village life. A country fair in which three young women are running for the prize of a smock; the third in line has tripped over a dog and is being helped up by a man. In the foreground, left to right: a young couple embrace beneath two trees hung with drapery; a small girl fills a mug of beer from a cask on which leans the village constable, asleep, with an empty mug in his lap; a small girl beside him holds a book lettered, "compleat peace off[ice]r. "; a dog steals food from a plate discarded on the ground; an old man stands on tip-toe holding his eye-glass to read a notice lettered, "to be run for by men in sacks, a flitch of bacon on tuesday next" which is pinned to one of the trees; a sailor sits on a branch of the tree holding up the hem of the prize smock which hangs on a pole at either end of which is a three-cornered hat; another sailor lounges on the ground looking at the runing women, a large jug near his foot; a chimney boy grabs a gingerbread crown from a boy who is holding a donkey by a chain; a small girl holds a younger child who waves another gingerbread crown while a dog jumps up to reach it. Behind the area roped off for the race is a crowd of spectators and a farm cart which a woman climbs into with the help of two men and another woman already in the cart; a man with a cockade in his hat waves a small flag on a pole, perhaps indicating the start of the race; a larger flag with a cross flies behind; other villagers are gathered in and around a makeshift tent; a one-horse carriage driven by a woman and carrying a gentleman comes into the scene from the right; behind the carriage two men are fencing. Women watch from upper windows of a large house in the background; on its walls are two bird-bottles and a dove-cote which a cat is eyeing with interest from a window sill; beyond is a windmill. 1770
etching and engraving. Date: 1770. Dimensions: Height: 252 mm; Width: 365 mm. Medium: paper. Collection: British Museum.
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