The first print in the series "Four Times of the Day" is a scene in Covent Garden. In the center, a middle-aged woman walks from the left towards St. Paul's church; the clock on the tower showing 6:55. She is followed by a servant boy carrying her prayer book under his arm as he tries to warm his hands in his pocket and jacket. St. Paul's is partially hidden behind a tavern identified by a sign reading "Tom King's Coffee House." There is a fight in the doorway, one man losing his wig as it flies out the door. In front of the tavern is a fire where two couples embrace as two women warm themselves, the one reaching out to beg of the well-dressed woman; two large baskets with vegetables sit behind the women, with carrots and mushrooms in the left foreground. To the left, in the middle distance, a small crowd, including two small boys with school bags on their backs, surrounds a man holding a placard advertising a remedy known as Dr. Rock's.
Description:
Title engraved below image., State and series from Paulson. First plate in the series: Four times a day and Strolling actresses dressing in a barn., and Sheet trimmed to plate mark.
Publisher:
Wm. Hogarth
Subject (Geographic):
Covent Garden (London, England)
Subject (Topic):
Beggars, Children, City & town life, Couples, Crowds, Fighting, Food vendors, Kissing, Prostitutes, Quacks, Servants, Signs (Notices), Taverns (Inns), and Women
