Thomas Rowlandson

The Dram Shop (The English Dance of Death)

Thomas Rowlandson original aquatint and etching entitled, "The Dram Shop" was published in 1815 by Rudolph Ackermann for the series entitled "The English Dance of Death". This engraving addressed a very real problem in England, the abuse of spirits (liquor) by the working classes and the poor. The words beneath the engraving read; "Some find their Death by Sword and Bullet' And some by Fluids, Down the Gullet". "The Dram Shop" is a fine, original example of the 19th century satirical art created by the British artist, Thomas Rowlandson.

The Dram Shop from The English Dance of Death

A Preacher, I remember well,
Whose fashion was blunt Truths to tell,
Harangu'd his Audience how to shun
Old Nick, as round the world he run;
And thus the fav'rite haunts defin'd
Of the Great Enemy of Mankind.

"Avoid the place where the profane
"Their Faithless Mysteries maintain;
"Nor let those mansions be explored
"Where the Dice rattles on the board.
"Nor risk your Labour's fair reward
"By shuffling the deceitful Card.
"In haste, pass by the tempting street
"Where the alluring wantons meet;
"For thus, as sure as Evil's evil,
"You'll meet that Spirit call'd the Devil.
"But above all, as you would shun
"In Life and Death to be undone,
"Indulge not in the liquid ill
"That flows from the empoison'd Still,

"That flows from the empoison'd Still,
"Thither the Fiend loves to repair,
"And Death, too oft, attends him there;
"Who, in his never-ceasing rounds,
"The Still-man aids as he compounds
"Each mixture that's in daily strife
"With Health, with Honour, and with Life.
"The Dram-shop is the spot that yields
"More various ills than all the fields
"Where grow the Vices that disgrace
"Th' existence of the human race
"The Town with beggars it supplies,
"And almost fills th' Infirmaries;
"Gives half their inmates to the jails,
"And multiplies the Hangman's vails.
"-- Question the sturdy Lab'rer, why
"He wears the rags of Poverty?
"Wherefore his well-paid, daily task
"Denies the Bread his Children ask? ...

*SYNTAX (Dr.) phrenonym [William Combe, 1741-1823].

Original Aquatint & Etching Printed in Colour by the British satirical artist, Thomas Rowlandson.

The Dram Shop from The English Dance of Death Original Aquatint and Etching by the British artist Thomas Rowlandson

The Dram Shop (The English Dance of Death)

View other original etchings by Thomas Rowlandson.

Thomas Rowlandson (London, 1756 - 1827)
#	Title & Artist	Medium	Date	Notes	-
01.-	Admiration etched by Thomas Rowlandson designed by George Moutard Woodward	Original Soft Ground Etching	1800	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Available
02.-	Deadly Lively by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Hand-Coloured Etching	1815	Published by Thomas Tegg, London	Sold
03.-	Doctor Syntax, Copying the Wit of the Window by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Hand-Colored Etching & Aquatint	1809 (1st Ed.)	Published by The Poetical Magazine at Rudolph Ackermann's Repository of Arts, 101 Strand, London	Available
04.-	Hot Goose, Cabbage & Cucumbers by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Hand-Coloured Etching	1823	Published by John Fairburn, Ludgate Hill	Sold
05.-	Preaching to Some Purpose etched by Thomas Rowlandson designed by George Moutard Woodward	Original Etching	1801	Publishd by Rudolph Ackermann, The Strand, London	Sold
06.-	The Battle from The English Dance of Death by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Aquatint & Etching Printed in Colour	1815	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Available
07.-	The Bishop from The English Dance of Death by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Aquatint & Etching Printed in Colour	1815	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Sold
08.-	The Consultation or Last Hope by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Etching	1808	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Sold
09.-	The Corporal in Good Quarters by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Hand-Coloured Etching	1808 (2nd Ed.)	Published by S. Howitt, London	Available
10.-	The Death Blow from The English Dance of Death by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Aquatint & Etching Printed in Colour	1815	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Sold
11.-	The Dram Shop from The English Dance of Death by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Aquatint & Etching Printed in Colour	1815	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Sold
12.-	The Duel from The English Dance of Death by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Aquatint & Etching Printed in Colour	1815	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Sold
13.-	The Gaming Table from The English Dance of Death by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Aquatint & Etching Printed in Colour	1815	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Sold
14.-	The Manager's Last Kick, Or a New Way to Pay Old Debts by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Hand-Coloured Etching	c. 1815	Published in London	Sold
15.-	The Pantomime from The English Dance of Death by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Aquatint & Etching Printed in Colour	1815	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Sold
16.-	The Quaker, and the Comissioners of Excise etched by Thomas Rowlandson designed by George Moutard Woodward	Original Hand-Coloured Etching	1807	Pulished by Thomas Tegg, London	Sold
17.-	The Wedding from The English Dance of Death by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Aquatint & Etching Printed in Colour	1815	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Sold
18.-	The Tooth-Ache, or, Torment & Torture by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Hand-Coloured Etching	1823	Published by John Fairburn, Ludgate Hill	Sold
19.-	Wapping by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Etching	1807	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, Repository of Arts, London	Sold

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Title:	The Dram Shop (The English Dance of Death)
Artist:	Rowlandson, Thomas (London, 1756 - 1827)
Date:	1815
Medium:	Original Aquatint & Etching Printed in Colour
Publisher:	Rudolph Ackermann, London
Printer:	Rudolph Ackermann, London
Note:	Thomas Rowlandson: Along with Hogarth, Gillray and Cruikshank, Thomas Rowlandson is at the uppermost peak of English satirical art. Amongst these masters, however, Rowlandson was the most gifted artist and his compositions always seemed the closest to the truth for he often lived the dissipated style of life he so memorably satirized. Along with Hogarth, Gillray and Cruikshank, Thomas Rowlandson is at the uppermost peak of English satirical art. Amongst these masters, however, Rowlandson was the most gifted artist and his compositions always seemed the closest to the truth for he often lived the dissipated style of life he so memorably satirized. After studying in both Paris and London, Thomas Rowlandson began his career as a portrait painter. By 1782, however, he devoted himself almost exclusively to his first love; caricature and satirical art. After receiving a large inheritance, Thomas Rowlandson quickly gambled it away. After losing his fortune at a thirty-six hour card game he is known to have exclaimed, "I've played the fool, but (holding up his pencils) here is my resource."
	Working with such publishers as Flores and Thomas Tegg, Thomas Rowlandson designed many memorable satires. His greatest work, however, lay ahead in the early nineteenth century when he collaborated with the famous London publisher, Rudolph Ackermann, to produce some of the finest satirical series in the history of art. These included The Microcosm of London (1808), the Tour of Dr. Syntax in Search of the Picturesque (1812) and The English Dance of Death, published in two volumes in 1815 and 1816. Loosely based upon Holdbein's Renaissance "Dance of Death", this latter series superbly uncovers the foibles of early nineteenth century life. For each of these original prints, Thomas Rowlandson created the drawings and etched the plates. Ackermann and his studio then provided the aquatinting and hand-colouring. The etchings from The English Dance of Death have long taken their place as among Thomas Rowlandson's greatest works of original art.
	Thomas Rowlandson's The Dram Shop, is very much like William Hogarth's Gin Lane and Beer Street. It addressed a very real problem in England, the abuse of spirits by the working classes and the poor. Here, the tavern is filled with drunks while Death provides the drinks (poison), his right hand clutches another bottle. The following words describe the engraving, "Some find their Death by Sword and Bullet' And some by Fluids, Down the Gullet". "You'll meet that Spirit call'd the Devil. But above all, as you would shun. In Life and Death to be undone, Indulge not in the liquid ill That flows from the empoison'd Still,"
Source:	The English Dance of Death
Size:	4 1/4 X 8 7/8 (Sizes in inches are approximate, height preceding width of plate-mark or image.)
	Framed and Matted with 100% Archival Materials -
	View Framed Image:

Condition:	Printed on early nineteenth century wove paper and with full margins as published in London by Rudolph Ackermann in 1815. The Dram Shop is in excellent condition throughout.
Price:	Sold - The price is no longer available.
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