William Hogarth

Pit Ticket: The Cockpit: William Hogarth's original etching and engraving entitled, Pit Ticket: The Cockpit depicts a cross-section of men from all classes and professions enthusiastically waging their money on the 'Royal Sport'. The symbolically blind nobleman in the centre of the composition impassively accepts the bets of seven frantic men, most of them of common stock. So intensely involved in their waging are these individuals that they fail to notice a young boy stealing a promissory note.

To the right of this cluster we have a man cracking his knuckles, another examining his brushed coat and a Quaker sneezing at his snuff. the Chimney-sweep to the right has already stolen the snuff from the Quaker. Below this a carpenter has fallen on a fat nobleman, who has crushed the man directly in front of him, who in turn has caused a third to be dashed against the arena.

On the left side of the centre, a happy little fellow writes ou7t the bets. Beside him, a trainer is ready with another contesting cock in a bag. Beside him, a toothless man laughs hysterically, and, in contrast, the next man points vehemently to his coin. Behind this group, an old and very deaf man cannot decipher the shouts of his companion. Over his shoulder a man sneezes violently at the accidentally dropped snuff of a Frenchman. This Frenchman stands outside the pit, as if looking down disdainfully at the mad scene below him. Along this railing stands a bored looking individual who lights his pipe. Only his dog take an active interest in the main event.

In the foreground two men wager a bet by knocking the butts of their whips together. To the right, a drunken man is about to have his purse stolen, as the end of the cane draws very near. The man with the emblem of the gallows on his back is none other than the public hangman. Although present for his own amusement he may one day hang one of the many scoundrels depicted here.

One can just detect the feet of the rival trainers at opposite ends of the arena. The shadow in the centre is that of a man who has been suspended above the crowd for not paying his debts. Unaffected by this experience, he attempts to barter or bet with his watch.

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