An Interesting Take on 18th Century Shoes

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James Gillray: Fashionable Contrasts; – or – the Duchess's little shoe yeilding to the magnitude of the Duke's foot, originally published by Hannah Humphrey on January 24, 1792.

The print shows the feet & ankles of the Duke & Duchess of York (Frederick, Duke of York & Albany 1763-1827, son of George III, & Frederica Charlotte Ulrica 1767-1820, his wife), with the Duke's feet enlarged & the Duchess's feet drawn very small.
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More Big Hair -- Higher, Higher, Higher

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French Fashion Plates 1777

French Fashion Plates 1777

French Fashion Plates 1777

French Fashion Plates 1777

French Fashion Plates 1777

French Fashion Plates 1777

Click here to see our earlier posting on Big Hair.

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Big Hair, Ladder High

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In the 1760s, just before the greatest period of turmoil in the British American colonies, fashionable hairstyles for genteel English women began to climb toward the heavens. This new style, imported from France, became the commerical target of London's printsellers & caricaturists during the 1770s. Themes of a few of these hairdos refer to the unrest in the American colonies.

The relationship between England & France during this period was complex. People traveled back & forth between the countries imitating each other's culture & fashions. At the same time the governments were rivals in economic, colonial, constitutional, & religious sectors, & were at war for much of the 18th century. Satire was inevitable.

1771. Carrington Bowles, Miss Prattle Consulting Doctor Double Fee about her Pantheon Head Dress. London.

1771 & 1776. Sayer & Bennett. The Ridiculous Taste or the Ladies Absurdity. London.

1771. Matthew Darly. Boarding School Education or the Frenchified Young Lady. London.

1773. John Bowles. Is this my Daughter? New York Public Library.

1776. Carrington Bowles. Fashionable Dress for the Year 1776. London. Yale Center for British Art.

1776. Matthew Darly. Miss Juniper Fox. London.

1776. Matthew Darly. Noodle Island or How We Are Deceived. (On the Evacuation of Boston by Howe in March 1776.) London.

1776. Matthew Darly. The Extravaganza or the Mountain Head Dress of 1776. London.

1776. Anonymous. The Lady's Maid or the Toilet Head Dress. London.

1776. Matthew Darly. The Preposterous Head Dress, or the Featherd Lady. London. The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University.

1777. Matthew Darly. Chloes's Cushion or the Cork Rump. London. (Notice the King Charles Spaniel on the rump.)

1777. Matthew Darly. The Green Stall (a Hairdo fit for Market Day). London.

1777, Matthew Darly. Long Corks or the Bottle Companions. London.

1777. Matthew Darly. Oh Heigh Oh or a View of the Back Settlements. London. (Today these backcountry posts are known as Ohio.)

1777. Matthew Darly. The Flower Garden. London.

1777. Matthew Darly. The Fruit Stall (Market Fruits Ready to be Eaten). London.

1777. J. Lockington. This Is Something New. (For the rainiest days.) London.


1777. Bunkers Hill or America's Head Dress. (That American Problem, again.) London.

There is a great article on big hair by Kate Haulman on the website Common-Place. (Thank you, Kristin Peszka.)

For more on London prints & printmakers.

For more on London satirical prints about fashion.

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London Prints Printmakers & Macaroni

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Between 1760 and 1800, enterprising London engravers & printmakers produced and marketed hundreds of mezzotint prints aimed at the growing popular market (comprised mostly of the urban middling sort) who were hungry for affordable prints.

Often these mezzotints, also called drolls, were humorous or satirical and were almost always created in a small 10 x 14 inch format which could be easily and cheaply framed. They were advertised in contemporary print catalogues and easily fit into a print shop display window or into a portfolio case. A traditional mezzotint print would sell for about 8 shillings. A colored droll would be only 2 shillings, and these mezzotints uncolored would cost 1 shilling.

One of the targets of mezzotint satire was a macaroni (or earlier maccaroni), which in mid-18th-century England referred to a fashionable fellow who dressed & spoke in an outlandishly affected manner. The term pejoratively referred to a man who exceeded the ordinary bounds of fashion in terms of clothing, dining, speech, & entertainment.

Young Englishmen who had traveled to Italy on the Grand Tour often adopted the Italian word maccherone — a boorish fool in Italian — and called anything that seemed fashionable "very macaroni."

In 1764 Horace Walpole mentioned “The Maccaroni Club (which is composed of all the travelled young men who wear long curls and spying-glasses).” A writer in the Oxford Magazine wrote in 1770, “There is indeed a kind of animal, neither male nor female, a thing of the neuter gender, lately started up amongst us. It is called Macaroni. It talks without meaning, it smiles without pleasantry, it eats without appetite, it rides without exercise, it wenches without passion.”

The song “Yankee Doodle,” popular during the American Revolutionary War, mentions a man who "stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni." The terms dandy (from the song) and fop also referred to fancy, fashionable gentlemen. At least 2 of the mezzotints focusing on macaronis depict well-dressed young men declaring their undying love to rather homely older women for their money.

Engravers & printsellers Mary & Matthew Darly in the fashionable west End of London sold sets of satirical "macaroni" caricature prints, between 1771 & 1773. Because of its location & merchandise, the Darly print shop became known as "The Macaroni Print-Shop."

Detail. M. Darly, Macaroni Dressing Room, London, June 26, 1772.

The austerity, anger, & abridged trade of the American Revolution dampened the desire for these mezzotints during the late 1770-80s on both sides of the Atlantic. By the 1790s, the leading droll printsellers, Robert Sayer (1725-1794) and Carington Bowles (1724-1793), were handing their businesses and stock over to others.

By 1800, the enthusiasm for the mezzotint droll was exhausted, soon to be replaced by other emerging engraving techniques, such as stipple and aquatint, as the media favored for the popular print market. Lithography was invented by Alois Senefelder (1771-1834) in Germany around 1798. In 1811, Senefelder published The Invention of Lithography, which was soon translated into English, French, & Italian, and the popularity of the technique soared.

Spectators at a Print Shop. Carington Bowles. London. 1774. New York Public Library. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the library for an accurate image.)

The Marcaroni Print Shop (The shop of Mary & Matthew Darly). Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Reproduction at allposters.com. Contact CWF for an accurate image.)

London Print Shop of William Humphrey (c.1740-c.1810). Promotional Print. (This depiction is from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce.)

Courtship for Money. Carington Bowles, London 1772. New York Public Library. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the library for an accurate image.)

Courtship for Money. Philip Dawe Fecit. for John Bowles, London. 1772. New York Public Library. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the library for an accurate image.)














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London Prints Rural Women

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Enterprising London printmakers published hundreds of popular & satirical mezzotints between 1760 and 1800, many of which quickly found their way to the British American colonies and later to the new republic.

These prints were sometimes called drolls, were usually 10' by 14' and were relatively inexpensive. They could be used in homes or in taverns. Many of these prints give a glimpse into the everyday life of women in the larger British world which is seldom found in more formal art.

The Tenant's Daughter. Haines and Son, London. 1798. Yale Center for British Art, Yale University. This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact Yale for an accurate image.)

Love in a Village. Carrington Bowles, London, 1784. The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale Univeristy. This library is located in Farmington, Connecticut. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact Yale for an accurate image.)

Rural Life. Robert Sayer and J. Bennett. London 1782. The Lewis Walpole Library. Yale University. This library is located in Farmington, Connecticut. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact Yale for an accurate image.)

Rural Life Spinning Yarn Philip Mercier Pinxt. C. Corbutt fecit.. Robt Sayer, 1760s London, Yale Center for British Art. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact Yale for an accurate image.)

Market Lass. Robert Dighton. Laurie and Whittle, London. 1794. Yale Center for British Art. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact Yale for an accurate image.)

Jockey and Jenny. Carington Bowles. London. 1782. The Lewis Walpole Library. Yale University. This library is located in Farmington, Connecticut. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact Yale for an accurate image.)

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London Prints Domestic Chores

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London printmakers published hundreds of popular & satirical mezzotints between 1760 and 1800, many of which quickly found their way to the British American colonies and later to the new republic.

These prints give a glimpse into the everyday life of women in the larger British world which is seldom found in more formal art.

The Landlord's Daughter. Haines and Son, London. 1798. Yale Center for British Art, Yale University. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact Yale for an accurate image.)

Camp Laundry. Robert Sayer & J. Bennett. London 1782. Metropolitan Museum of Art. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the Met for an accurate image.)

Lacemaking. John Fairburn. London. 1795. Harry Elkins Widener Collection, Houghton Library fo the Harvard College Library. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the library for an accurate image.)

Lady Working Tambour The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University. This library is located in Farmington, Connecticut. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the library for an accurate image.)

Ironing Henry Morland Henry Morland Pinxt. Philip Dawe Fecit. Carrington Bowles. London. 1769. The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University. This library is located in Farmington, Connecticut. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the library for an accurate image.)

March (Lady Holding Sewing). R. Dighton. Carrington Bowles. London. 1784. The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University. This library is located in Farmington, Connecticut. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the library for an accurate image.)

Soaping Linnen. Henry Morland Pinxt. Philip Dawe Fecit. Carrington Bowles. London. 1769. The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University. This library is located in Farmington, Connecticut. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the library for an accurate image.)

The Fair Seamstress. Heilman pinxt J. Watson fecit. for John Bowles, London. 1760s. The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University. This library is located in Farmington, Connecticut. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the library for an accurate image.)

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London Prints 1767 Calendar

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London printmakers published hundreds of popular & satirical mezzotints between 1760 and 1800, many of which quickly found their way to the British American colonies and later to the new republic.

These 1767 calendar prints give a glimpse into the everyday life of gentlewomen in the larger British world which is seldom found in more formal art. They depict clothing changes across the seasons as well as outdoor activities.


January. Printed for Robert Sayer, London. 1767. Yale Center for British Art. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact Yale for an accurate image.)

February. Printed for Robert Sayer, London. 1767. Yale Center for British Art. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact Yale for an accurate image.)

March. Printed for Robert Sayer, London. 1767. Yale Center for British Art. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact Yale for an accurate image.)

April. Printed for Robert Sayer, London. 1767. Yale Center for British Art. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact Yale for an accurate image.)

May. Printed for Robert Sayer, London. 1767. Yale Center for British Art. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact Yale for an accurate image.)

June. Printed for Robert Sayer, London. 1767. Yale Center for British Art. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact Yale for an accurate image.)

July. Printed for Robert Sayer, London. 1767. Yale Center for British Art. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact Yale for an accurate image.)

August. Printed for Robert Sayer, London. 1767. Yale Center for British Art. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact Yale for an accurate image.)

September. Printed for Robert Sayer, London. 1767. Yale Center for British Art. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact Yale for an accurate image.)

October. Printed for Robert Sayer, London. 1767. Yale Center for British Art. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact Yale for an accurate image.)

November. Printed for Robert Sayer, London. 1767. Yale Center for British Art. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact Yale for an accurate image.)

December. Printed for Robert Sayer, London. 1767. Yale Center for British Art. (This depiction is a detail from a lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact Yale for an accurate image.)

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