Snip Anglois

James Bretherton|James Bretherton|Henry William Bunbury

December 20, 1773 · Hand-colored etching · Drawings and Prints

In this satirical image an English tailor holds out a set of cloth patterns in a folding case, pointing out designs to a potential customer as a tape measure spills from his pocket. The etcher Bretherton often teamed up with the amateur artist Bunbury to make caricature prints. As the younger son in a well-to-do family, Bunbury started to create humorous drawings while still at Westminster School. He then attended St. Catharine's College, Cambridge but left before earning a degree. A student visit to France inspired a series of images that constrast working figures from different nations– humorous comparisons of English and French manners being a staple of visual humor at that period. This work was published as a pair with an image of a French tailor, titled "Snip Francois."

Artist

James Bretherton|James Bretherton|Henry William Bunbury

Date

December 20, 1773

Medium

Hand-colored etching

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Jill Spalding, 2022