Well-a-day, Is this my Son Tom

Carington Bowles I|Samuel Hieronymus Grimm

ca. 1773 · Etching and engraving · Drawings and Prints

The extremes of "macaroni" male fashion are mocked in this image which shows a fashionably dressed young man encountering his father during a visit home to the country. The older man, wearing the loose old-fashioned suit of a prosperous farmer, greets Tom with consternation. After living in London, the youth has adopted the dress favored by British dandies of the 1770s: tight breeches tied at the knee with ribbands, two watches seals falling below his waistcoat, a long tasseled walking stick and an enormous toupee wig adorned with side curls and a huge "club" hanging down the back. The ridiculous size of the headpiece is accentuated with a tiny cocked hat.

Artist

Carington Bowles I|Samuel Hieronymus Grimm

Date

ca. 1773

Medium

Etching and engraving

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1960