Set of six original antique copper engravings by William Hogarth
Published by Craddock and Baldwin, 1820
Plate 1
The plot of the painting is the unmitigated greed of the two fathers, the Alderman and the Earl. The Alderman is wealthy to excess, and the Earl is heavily in debt but still retains his ancient title. The Alderman is desirous of becoming the grandfather to a noble son, and the Earl wants to ensure his line is carried on, and is willing to put up with the common Alderman for the sake of his money.
Meanwhile, the soon to be married two are completely ignoring each other, and the bride is being courted by the lawyer. Myriad details show the true natures of the characters present, especially the Earl and his son.
Plate 2
While the details are not always settled upon (the time of the day is one of the most disputed questions in the entire series), the primary implication is clear: The two are totally uninterested in each other, and the marriage and the household are rapidly becoming untenable.
Plate 3
Hogarth uses a black patch to indicate that the Viscount is suffering from syphilis. He makes a visit to a French doctor based uponDr. Rock (who can also be seen inA Harlot's Progress). His surgery was at 96, St. Martins Lane, Westminster, London.
Plate 4
The old Earl has died and the son is now the new Earl and his wife, the Countess. As was the very height of fashion at the time, the Countess is holding a "Toilette", or reception, in her bedroom.
Plate 5
The new Earl catches his wife with her lover, Silver tongue, and is fatally wounded by the scoundrel who makes his escape through the window.
This episode takes place in the Turk's Head Bagnio inBow Street,Covent Garden, identified by a bill on the floor by the upturned table on the left. The Turk's Head actually existed and was kept by a Mrs Earl. "Bagnio" was originally a word used to describe acoffee house,which offeredTurkish baths, but by Hogarth's time it signified a place where rooms could be taken for the night with no questions asked.
Plate 6
The Countess has returned to her father's house after her husband’s murder. The moral drama is concluded with her having moved from dissipation and vice to misery and shame, and finally to terminating her existence by suicide after her lover is hanged at Tyburn for murdering her husband.
