The Houndsditch Macaroni

Method Etching
Artist James Bretherton after Henry William Bunbury
Published Published as the Act directs 20th December 1772. By J. Bretherton No 134 New Bond Street
Dimensions Image 218 x 152, Sheet 255 x 166 mm
Notes A snide looking gentleman in extravagant dress stands with hands in pockets and hat under arm. He looks to the left and sticks his tongue out. He is dressed to parody the costume of the 'macaronies' hanging around London's Houndsditch area in the mid-eighteenth century. 'Macaroni' was a term for the group of highly fashionable individuals who dressed and spoke in an outlandishly affected manner in this period. The term pejoratively refers to a man who exceeded the ordinary bounds of fashion in terms of clothes, fastidious eating, and gambling.

James Bretherton (fl. 1750-1799) was an etcher, dealer and publisher in London. His brother was Charles Bretherton and is particularly associated with Henry William Bunbury, many of whose works he engraved and published. His stock of plates was auctioned in 1799.

Henry William Bunbury (1750–1811) was an English caricaturist. He was the second son of Sir William Bunbury, 5th Baronet, of Mildenhall, Suffolk. He was educated at Westminster School and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and soon showed a talent for drawing, especially for humorous subjects. His more serious efforts were no great success, but his caricatures are as famous as those of his contemporaries Thomas Rowlandson and James Gillray. His designs were usually etched by Darly and Bretherton, and (from 1780s) Dickinson.

Ex. Col: Brigadier Noël Louis St Pierre Bunbury DSO (1890–1971)

BM Satires 4715

Condition: Small loss to margin, some foxing, diagonal crease lower right.
Framing unmounted
Price £120.00
Stock ID 45030

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