A SCEENE of SCEENES. (Elizabeth Canning and Mary Squires)

Date1755

Artist/Maker John June

MediumLine engraving and etching on laid paper

DimensionsOverall: 17 1/8 × 13 1/8 in (43.5 × 33.34cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1967-665,2

DescriptionBelow the image reads, "Elizabeth Canning's Dream for ye good of her Native country, which she Dreamt soon after her arrival in America./ Printed for T. For and Published according to Act of Parliament 1755."

Title text above the block of text reads, "Extract of a Letter from a Merchant in Boston, to his Correspondent in London, dated Nov. 5. 1754."

The text at the lower edge of the plate reads, "London, Printed and Sold by the Print and Booksellers (Price Six-pence plain, and One Shilling coloured.)"Label TextOn New Year's Day 1753, the teenaged Elizabeth Canning (1734-1773) left her mother's home. When she returned almost a month later, she was thin, injured, and dirty. To this day, it is unclear what happened to her during that time. Canning claimed she was kidnapped and helf against her will in a hayloft. Press coverage of the story led to immense public support for Canning. Her alleged captors, Mary Squires and Susannah Wells, were arrested, put on trial, and convicted. Soon newspapers, the public, and courts began to question the details of Canning's extraordinary tale. Witnesses flipped sides and alibis changed. Canning was tried for perjury and found guilty. Her sentence was transportation to the colony of Connecticut.

This print shows a fictitious scene of Canning after her arrival in Connecticut. The text notes that Canning was "lately arrived from England (and as many here think, as does likewise several eminent sober Citizens of London unjustly exiled)." The author imagines Canning has a dream that a folk prophetess, Mother Shipton (looking suspiciously like Mary Squires), tells her that she is the English version of Joan of Arc. Her mission is to help defeat the French in North America. The print was published on the eve of the French and Indian War.Mark(s)Printed for T. Tor and Publish'd according to Act of Parliament 1755. London, Printed and Sold by the Print and Booksellers (Price Six-pence plain, and One Shilling coloured.)ProvenanceBefore 1967, The Old Print Shop (New York, NY); 1967-present, purchased by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)