Skip to main content
Advanced Search
Direct scan of object
The Spruce Sportsman, or Beauty the Best Shot
Direct scan of object

The Spruce Sportsman, or Beauty the Best Shot

Date1780
Publisher 1724 - 1793
OriginEngland, London
MediumMezzotint with period color and some line engraving
DimensionsOL: 14 3/4" x 10 1/2"; plate: 13" x 9 7/8".
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1958-356
DescriptionLower margin reads: "The SPRUCE SPORTSMAN, or BEAUTY the BEST SHOT./ 388/ Printed for & Sold by CARINGTON BOWLES. at his Map & Print Warehouse, N.o 69 in S.t Pauls Church Yard, LONDON. Publish'd as the Act directs, 24 June 1780."Label TextA woman with a very elaborate wig and a calash bonnet has just come into the drawing room. She wears a fur trimmed cape and carries a bag. She is greeted by another woman wearing an elaborate feathered hat on her curls. A fire is going in the grate and a teapot is warming on the fire. In the background a young man with a gun sits grinning at a young maid who has just come in the room. The maid is carrying a tray of tea things and is getting ready to put it down for serving.ProvenanceBefore 1958, F. & G. Staack (Camden, Maine); 1958-present, purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).