A sailor (left), who looks with a grin towards the spectator, sits on a corded sea-chest pointing at his prize-money which is heaped up on a larger chest in front of him. He is gaily dressed, wearing a hat with a ribbon favour, long pig-tail, striped trousers; a bunch of seals dangles from his waistcoat. His smoking pipe lies on the ground behind him. In his right hand is a sheaf of papers inscribed 'list of prizes taken at the [ ?] huntinna st eustatia'. Five money-sacks stand on the chest, three being inscribed respectively '£10,000', 'spanish dollars', and '£5,000'; a sixth lies open with coins issuing from it. Four wine-bottles, one labelled 'made[ira]', and a glass also stand on the chest. Through an open sash-window is seen a man-of-war whose sails are being lowered. On the wall (left) behind the sailor's head is a ballad headed by an oval bust portrait of george iii and the words 'god save the king'; below the verses is a crown. Beneath the design is engraved:
'now the wars are all over,
faith i'll live in clover;
i've enough of this pelf,
for my friends and myself. ' 22 september 1785
mezzotint with some etching. Date: 1785. Dimensions: Height: 353 mm; Width: 250 mm. Medium: paper. Collection: British Museum. The True British Tar (BM 2010,7081.1383)
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