'the wit's magazine', i. 123. Illustration to verses by holcroft with the same title, pp. 151-3, said to be taken from 'l'utile col dolci', published at florence 'with the approbation of the archbishop'. A scene in a florentine street or piazza in front of a gothic shrine (left) in which is a virgin and child. Two blind beggars, each with a dog, are fighting. A well-dressed man walks off with their hats, looking at them over his shoulder with a smile. Spectators look from a window and a door. A penniless man of ancient family prays regularly to the virgin for relief. On one occasion he hears two blind beggars at her shrine boasting of the wealth concealed in their hats; he thereupon runs away with the hats, confesses to a prelate, who approves, but insists on taking a major share of the spoil. 1 may 1784
etching. Date: 1784. Dimensions: Height: 187 mm; Width: 224 mm. Medium: paper. Depicted People: Thomas Holcroft. Collection: British Museum. The Blind Beggars Hats (BM 1872,1109.325)
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