Caricature depicting a modishly dressed white couple (man and woman) strolling through Philadelphia's Washington Square near the Society Hill section of the city. The woman wears a bright yellow dress with extremely puffed leg o'mutton sleeves and a dramatically large yellow hat with a massively wide brim. Blue and yellow striped ribbons are attached to the hat and hang down from the brim. A kerchief and necklace adorn her neck. She carries a purple purse and a pink umbrella in her left hand and a pink monocle in her right. She holds the monocle close to the side of her chin. The man wears a blue waistcoat with massively puffed leg o'mutton sleeves, a plaid cravat, brown trousers, and top hat. He holds a walking cane in his left hand to the side of his waist. Both figures are depicted with corseted waists. Two fashionably dressed women, a fashionably dressed couple (man and woman) with a child, and multi-story buildings and trees are seen in the background. In the early 1800s Washington Square evolved from a pasture ground and a burial ground for the city’s African American community, indigent community, and Revolutionary War soldiers in the 18th century to a park at the request of the wealthy residents in the neighborhood., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of later plates in the series., Probably published by William Simpson., Inscribed: Plate 1., Nancy Reynolds Davison's E.W. Clay: American political caricaturist of the Jacksonian era. (PhD. diss., The University of Michigan, 1980), p. 86. (LCP Print Room Uz, A423.O)., Part of the digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Accessioned in 1999.
Creator
Clay, Edward Williams, 1799-1857, etcher
Date
[1828]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (Philadelphia Set) [P.9688]
