A polite artist on St. Lukes Day, under the patronage of Dr. Bardana & c &c.

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A polite artist on St. Lukes Day, under the patronage of Dr. Bardana & c &c.
etching
image: 149 x 113 mm; plate mark: 177 x 125 mm; sheet: 280 x 215 mm
Purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan, 1900.
Peel 2644
Published: 
[London] : Pub. by MDarly, 39 Strand, Oct. 18, 1773.
Provenance: 
Formerly owned by Sir Robert Peel.
Notes: 

Title from caption below image.
Initial letters of publisher's name in imprint form a monogram.
Plate numbered "V 6" in upper left corner and "24" in upper right corner.
Plate 24 from vol. VI: Characters, macaronies, & caricatures. [London] : Pub. by M Darly, 39 Strand, Novr. 1, 1773.
"A portrait of 'Sir' John Hill, a quack or charlatan with a diploma of medicine from the University of St. Andrews, but a botanist of some repute. He began the publication of his 'Vegetable System' in 1759, the last of twenty-six folio volumes coming out in 1775. He was said to be "in a chariot one month, in jail the next for debt". 'D.N.B.' One of his remedies was advertised as Elixir of Bardana or Essence of Water Dock."--Curator's comments, British Museum online catalog.

Summary: 

"Portrait of a man whole length standing in profile looking to the left. Under his arm is a large book, 'Vegetab[le] Syste[m] by D ... ' He wears patched old-fashioned clothes and torn stockings, a short wig which fails to conceal his own hair. His hat is under his right arm, a cane under the left."--British Museum online catalogue.

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