DECEMBER. DECEMBRE.

Dateca. 1780

After work by Robert Dighton (1752-1814)

Publisher Carington Bowles 1724 - 1793

OriginEngland, London

MediumMezzotint engraving on laid paper

DimensionsOverall: 14 1/2 × 10 7/8 in (36.83 × 27.62cm)
Other (Platemark): 14 × 9 7/8 in (35.56 × 25.08cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1972-177,12

DescriptionThe lower margin reads: "DECEMBER./ DECEMBRE./ R. Dighton del./ Pritned for & Sold by Carington Bowles,/ N.o 69 in S.t Pauls Church Yard, London./ Published as the Act directs, 337"Label TextThis print, representing the month of December, is part of a set of twelve prints representing the months of the year. Themed sets, such as this were popular throughout the eighteenth-century in England and America. A young woman sits at a table, her arm resting on an open book, playing cards scattered around, and two candles lite. She holds a snuffer in one hand, and pulls on the bell chain with her other to call a servant. The curtain at the window behind her is pulled, but one corner is pulled open revealing a moon. The table is covered with a cloth. There is a rug on the floor. Acat is asleep at the woman's feet. She is elegantly attired including a shawl to protect her from the winter's cold.ProvenanceBefore 1972, the Old Print Shop (New York, NY); 1972-present, purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).