Shave for a penny, hair dres't for two pence, and a glass of gin into the bargain

Maker:

Cruikshank, Isaac Robert

ID:

49.10/13

Production date:

1793-09-20

Location:

In Store

This print depicts three seated customers swathed in sheets; the figure on the left is being lathered by a woman who holds a dish and references the 'shave for a penny'; the figure in the centre is having his hair arranged by a hunchback standing on a stool - 'the hair dres't for two pence' in the title - and the figure on the right is having his hair curled. He is shown grimacing in pain. The glass of gin is shown on the shelf behind the figures.  < ...Read more

This print depicts three seated customers swathed in sheets; the figure on the left is being lathered by a woman who holds a dish and references the 'shave for a penny'; the figure in the centre is having his hair arranged by a hunchback standing on a stool - 'the hair dres't for two pence' in the title - and the figure on the right is having his hair curled. He is shown grimacing in pain. The glass of gin is shown on the shelf behind the figures.

By the late eighteenth century the barber had become a debased character, easy to satirise and the barber's shop a place of low repute.

Isaac Cruikshank (1756-1811) was a Scottish painter and caricaturist who moved to London in 1783. He was a contemporary of Thomas Rowlandson and James Gillray and died of alcohol poisoning at the early age of fifty five. < Hide

Measurements

H 217 mm; W 268 mm (paper)

Materials

paper; ink

Last Updated

2024-03-26