A Picturesque View of the State of the Nation for February 1778.

Date1778

MediumLine engraving and etching on laid paper

DimensionsOverall: 4 × 6 3/4in. (10.2 × 17.1cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1960-68

DescriptionThis print was published in Westminster Magazine. The shoreline has been selected for the setting. Representing England's commerce, the cow stands passively while an Indian, symbolizing America, saws off its horn. Its other horn has already been removed and is on the ground. Milking the cow, a grinning Dutchman has passed large bowls of the fresh liquid to a Frenchman and a Spaniard who appear satisfied with their share. An Englishman, wringing his hands in despair, stands in front of the cow. Next to him the British lion sleeps oblivious to everything including a dog raising its leg to urinate on the lion's back.
Across the ocean, the ship "Eagle" has gone around just below Philadelphia. Between the city and the shore, two men sprawled in drunken apathy around a table with an empty barrel and bottles nearby. In September 1777, Philadelphia had fallen to the British, but the victory was disappointing because the town had been partially abandoned by the Americans.Label TextThis English satire representing the state of the nation early in 1778 was one of the most popular and most copied works of the Revolutionary era. The Colonial Williamsburg collection contains four distinct impressions: this illustration, one in French, and two different versions in Dutch. The "Westminster Magazine" impression separated the explanation from the picture, while the Continental impressions, published as individual prints, placed the description immediately under the design.

Westminster Magazine, vi, 66.ProvenanceBefore 1960, H. Dunscombe Colt [1901-1973] (New York, NY); before 1960, purchased by the Old Print Shop (New York, NY); 1960-present, purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).