Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

A pair of polished gentlemen

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James Gillray
1756-1815

A pair of polished gentlemen

[London] : Publish'd March 10th 1801, by H. Humphrey, 27. St James's Street, [1801]
etching, hand colored
image: 350 x 252 mm; plate mark: 356 x 250 mm; sheet: 374 x 277 mm
Bequest of Gordon N. Ray, 1987.
1986.505
Notes
By James Gillray.
Provenance

From the library of Gordon N. Ray.

Summary

Print shows the two heads of Sir Skeffington and Montagu James Mathew emerging from the highly-polished boots of their respective owners. Skeffington's boot (left) is a tasselled Hessian; its pointed toe rests on the foot of Mathew's spurred top-boot. Both wear round hats of slightly differing shapes. Skeffington's dark hair is short, falling over his forehead; he has a large whisker. Mathew's fair hair is long and powdered, and tied by a ribbon at the tips; he has a small whisker. Round the two boots are grouped blacking materials. A large open book is 'Essay on Blacking'; by it are bottles labelled 'Mr Broomhills Recipe' and 'The Princes Recipe', and a mixing-pot. Two volumes at right are 'Chemistry'; on them are bottles labelled 'Pine Apple' and 'Spirit of Salt'. There are also two brushes, a polishing pad, a cake of 'Holdsworth's' blacking, and a broken bottle of 'Royal Blacking'.

Associated names
Humphrey, Hannah, active 1774-1817, publisher.
Ray, Gordon Norton, 1915-1986, former owner.
Classification
Department