Volume III of Macaronies. Characters. Caracatures &c. Design'd by the Greatest Personages Artists &c. Graved & Pub.d by MDarly
Date1772
Publisher
Matthew Darly
ca. 1720 - 1780
Publisher
Mary Darly
1760 - 1781
Engraver
M. Darly
OriginEngland, London
MediumEtching and line engraving on laid paper with hand coloring
DimensionsOverall: 8 9/16 × 5 5/8in. (21.7 × 14.3cm)
Other (Plate): 7 1/2 × 5 7/16in. (19.1 × 13.8cm)
Other (Plate): 7 1/2 × 5 7/16in. (19.1 × 13.8cm)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1955-62,51
DescriptionTitle reads: "VOL. III./ OF/ MACARONIES. /CHARACTERS./ CARICATURES./ &c/ DESIGN'D. BY. THE./ GREATEST. PERSONAGES / ARTISTS. &c. GRAVED. &/ PUB.D. BY. MDARLY. 39./ STRAND./ Pub.d accor.g to Act by MDarly Inventor 1772"Label TextThis is the frontispiece for volume three of a set of satirical prints by husband and wife team Matthew and Mary Darly who made name for themselves by capitalizing on the upper classes craze for caricatures, the practice of making a likeness with exaggerated mannerisms or features to create a comic effect. The Darly’s catered to this audience by publishing a prolific assortment of caricature prints during the 1770s. Their most famous work was their encyclopedic "Caricatures" which included prints of macaroni’s as well as other interesting characters all based on their own drawings and those submitted to them by amateur artists lambasting their friends, artists, and other figures in London life. The front page of Volume I describes them as “…a Series of Drol[l] Prints consisting of Heads, Figures, Conversations and Satires upon the follies of the Age…” These prints were published in groups of 24, in six volumes that were published between 1771 and 1773. Colonial Williamsburg owns volumes 1-3.ProvenanceBefore 1955, the Old Print Shop (New York, NY); 1955-present, purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).
