[A rake's progress]. [graphic] / Plate 1

"The Jacobean interior of the house of Tom Rakewell's late father (after the painting at Sir John Soane's Museum) with Tom being measured for a suit as he gives a handful of coins to the pregnant Sarah Young; behind him sits a lawyer compiling inventories whilst stealing from the coins on the desk; on the floor are boxes of miscellaneous goods, piles of mortgages, indentures, bond certificates and other documents; an old woman brings faggots to light a fire and an upholsterer attaching fabric (purchased from William Tothall of Covent Garden) to the wall reveals a hiding place for coins which tumble out."--British Museum catalogue online