Topham, Edward (British, 1751-1820) — A Macaroni Print Shop. Plate 94. Original Etching

(London: Matthias Darly and Mary Darly , circa 1772). Original etching. 16.7 x 24.3 cm. sheet mounted on old laid paper. 49.5 x 34,5 cm. With 2 folds. Together with two reproductions ......This copy wthout the text. BM Satires / Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum (4701) ............................Met Museum: This dandy comes from a set of twenty-four caricatures that Matthew and Mary Darly published in 1771. A husband-and-wife team, the Darlys developed a new British print genre--small etched caricatures of single figures against plain backgrounds, their identities indicated through dress, pose and a few props. Many of these works mocked the fashionable manners of contemporary London dandies called "macaronis," and the Darly's wares soon became known as macaroni prints no matter what their subjects. The implied Italian connection was in fact appropriate, since the basic form was inspired by Ghezzi's caricature drawings brought back from Rome by Grand Tourists. The form and subjects adapted by the Darlys tickled British tastes and broadened the scope of Ghezzi's works to include a range of social classes, known figures, and types. This printw as designed by Edward Topham, a military officer, dandy, and skilled amateur artist... B.M. : Museum number 1872,1012.4903 Title Object: Object: A Macaroni Print Shop Description Satire on macaroni prints: (No. 24) the window of the Darlys' at 39, The Strand shop, filled with macaroni and other prints; seven men stand in front, including an elderly macaroni, at left, who appears shocked by what he sees, a porter, laughing and spilling a pot of beer, and a stout elderly army officer with a long queue. 14 July 1772... Provenance : From the collection of Frederic Gale Ruffner, Jr. the founder of Gale Research, Detroit. .