Social Political & Satirical

33x39 cm

Pair of original prints Beer Street & Gin lane.

BEER STREET. | Designed by W. Hogarth. Publish'd acoording to Act of Parliament Feb.1.1751.
Beer, happy Produce of our Isle Can sinewy Strength impart, And wearied with Fatigue and Toil Can chear each manly Heart. | Labour and Art upheld by Thee Sucesfully advance, We Quaff Thy balmy Juice with Glee And Water leave to France. | Genius of Health, thy grateful taste Rivals the Cup of Love, And warms each English generous Breast With Liberty and Love.
GIN LANE. | Designed by W. Hogarth. Publish'd acoording to Act of Parliam.^t Feb.1.1751.
Gin cursed Fiend with Fury Fraught, Makes human Race a Prey; It enters by a deadly Draught, And steals our Life away. | Virtue and Truth, driv'n to Despair, It's Rage compells to fly, But cherishes, with bellish Care, Theft, Murder, Perjury. | Damn'd Cup! that on the Vitals preys, That liquid Fire contains Which Madness to the Heart conveys, And rolls it thro' the veins.
William Hogarth (1697-1764), apprenticed as an engraver, became the most signifiant artist and printmaker of his time, his satirical caricatures and political cartoons establishing the genre. From 1730 Hogarth established his own business publishing and selling his own prints. After his death his plates passed to his wife Jane who continued issuing his prints until her own death in 1789. The plates were then acquired by publisher John Boydell and sold again, at the Boydell bankruptcy sale in 1818 to Baldwin & Cradock who began selling prints from 1820. Noted engraver James Heath was employed to strengthen some of the engraved lines and this final issue of 1822 is the last to use Hogarth's original engraved plates.

Probably Hogarth's most well known engravings first issued in 1751 comparing the evils of drinking Gin with the merits of beer. This pair were published in the 1822 edition The Works of William Hogarth, from the Original Plates restored by James Heath…London: Printed for Baldwin & Cradock, Paternoster Row, by G.Woodall, Angel Court, Skinn Street.
Waterstains to top left corner of the paper and some spotting to paper edges, but with large generous margins, no marks are closer than 5cm to the plate line and are very good clean examples.  
Price is for the pair of prints.
Approximate printed are of each print 33x39cm.