A presumably incomplete set of ten transformation cards, drawn by Thomas Dyer, with caricatured figures of his family as stated in a 1852 note by William Hylton Dyer Longstaffe mounted to the side of the 3 of hearts. Each figure is drawn to incorporate the shape of a heart, diamond, or spade and then tipped onto brown card. Some of the cards were copied or adapted from the Nixon-Fuller set which was published circa 1811; one, for example, shows two men seated across a table with a candle jug and pipe resting upon it, which according to Longstaffe's note features a self-portrait by Thomas Dyer (smoking) and a portrait of his father William Charles Dyer (either snoozing or contemplating). Other cards represent a range of subjects: a courtroom drama, guardsmen, two seated women (one of whom is reading to the other), a man with a goatee beard, a clergyman holding a baby and a couple standing on either side of him, and a scene with two people playing cards. Other Longstaffe's notes provide the provenance and custodial history of the cards; "I beg your acceptance of the enclosed. The drawings on the cards are by the late Thomas Dyer caricaturing his family. Charles Dyer to me, 27 Dec. 1852." Another note reads: "'I beg your acceptance of the enclosed cards, which I only found this morning. They belong to the former ones I sent. Thomas Dyer gave them to his Aunt Elizabeth, from thence they descended to my aunt Emma.' Charles H. Dyer to me, 5 Mr. 1853." and The set also includes a full-length portrait of a Georgian gentleman, drawn on an oval piece of paper that has been mounted to a rectangular card mount with gold paper
Description:
In English., Title devised by cataloger., and For further information, consult library staff.
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain
Subject (Name):
Dyer, Thomas, approximately 1783-1852, and Dyer, William Charles, 1761-1828,
The sixth drawing in a series of twelve that follow a tradition of producing a series on modern morals, a tradition established earlier in the 18th century by artists such as William Hogarth. In this series, twin brothers are bestowed an equal fortune. One brother, Edward, husbands his wealth and on his death, passes on his fortune; whilst the other brother, Charles, squanders his, leaving his family destitute and In this sixth drawing, three men play at dice in a room at a club. The man seated at the table (left) and the man standing with his back to the wall both have piles of coins in front of them. Charles with a worried look stands at the table as he throws the dice. Another pair of men play cards at the table on the right. On the walls are pictures of a ship on a river along the shore with a tower, a painting of a race horse, and pastoral scene
Description:
Title devised by cataloger., Text in faint pencil below image: Charles [illegible text]., Signed "Dodd" in lower left and numbered '6' in ink in the upper right., Date range based on artist's active dates., and For further information, consult library staff.
Subject (Topic):
Allegorical drawings, Card games, Gambling, and Parables
Three playing cards, or transformation cards, drawn in pen and ink by an unidentified artist, showing caricatured figures using the shape of the pip, only hearts or diamonds (red watercolor) in this incomplete set. One of the cards (two hearts) features two gentlemen meeting. The other two cards (three of diamonds) feature a lady with a fan and two gentleman in one card; the other incomplete, has a lady with a fan and only one gentleman
Description:
In English., Title from dealer's description., and Cards appear to have been removed from an album; remains of paper and glue are present on verso of each card.
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain
Subject (Topic):
Playing cards, Card games, and Social life and customs
After William Hogarth's plate 6 from A rake's progress, depicts the interior of a gambling house (Leicester Fields) where groups of men play cards and roll dice, large piles of coins at their sides. The losers are shown in various stages of despair, their wigs tossed on the ground alongside their losing hands. The windows are shuttered and the room lit with candles in wall sconces and in candlesticks on the table. On the right one man is being restrained by his friends as he tries to attack the winner of the stacks in their game. On the left a young man sits at a table signing over his plate and jewelry as an angry man stands over him
Description:
Title in manuscript on mounting sheet., Publication date from an unverified card catalog record., Sheet trimmed within plate mark., Plagiary on Hogarth's design of A rake's progress, plate 6, "Scene in a gambling house.", Copy of No. 2235 in the Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum. Division I, political and personal satires, v. 3., and Mounted to 18 x 26 cm.
A set of playing cards, or transformation cards, drawn by an unidentified artist, showing caricatured figures; each vignette incorporates the formation of hearts or diamonds into the scene. Some of the cards are numbered or annotated on the backs while others show drafts of other sketches. The set contains only the red suits, cards numbered from one to ten in each, although some numbers are missing and there are multiples of some numbers. Illustrations are also duplicated while others appear not to have been finished. There are no cards with clubs and spades. A number of the cards center on Shakespearean themes, social history, and street scenes (such as courtroom drama, musicians performing, a man in the stocks and, in a few, card playing itself). Some of the scenes depicted on these cards show more ribald, drawing from Macbeth’s Weird Sisters, Twelfth Night, King John, and The Merry Wives of Windsor; several are annotated on the reverse with lines from the plays. Falstaff is featured on several cards. Many of the cards reflect the mores of the period and the contrast between ruling passions and rules of conduct. In one, two men cast judgment upon a pregnant woman; it is annotated on the reverse with a dialogue between a Constable and a Judge. In "Village School" a schoolteacher manages to simultaneously hold a book and pinch a child's ear (nine of hearts). Other subjects include a game of chess (five of diamonds); drinking and smoking in a pub (seven of diamonds); and "Bunbury’s Country Club" (six of diamonds) in which the artist has kept elements from the print (published circa 1788). On the ten of diamonds the artist depicts a game of whist (annotated on the reverse "Can you one?").
Description:
In English., Title devised by cataloger., Some cards annotated and numbered on the verso., and For further information, consult library staff.
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain
Subject (Name):
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616
Subject (Topic):
Playing cards, Card games, and Social life and customs
A scene in a tavern with a pair of inebriated men sitting on a bench in front of fireplace, smoking pipes and drinking from tankards, a dog at their feet. Another man from the next booth leans over the wall to engage them in conversation which they seem not to enjoy. In the next booth (right) a group of four men play cards while a fifth looks on.
Description:
Title and date from dealer's description., Unsigned; attributed to Rowlandson., and With color tests on verso (not visible).
Pen and ink drawing depicting a large gaming room decorated with a single chandelier, a large mantel holding vases and candles, and framed paintings on the walls. Guests are seated around two tables playing card games while other guests stand together in groups
Description:
Title devised by cataloger., Date from unverified data from local card catalog record., and For further information, consult library staff.
Subject (Geographic):
England.
Subject (Topic):
Games, Card games, Chandeliers, Mantels, and Rooms & spaces
A collection of hand-drawn transformation playing cards using the suit symbols incorporated in the sketches of people in a variety of scenes, some clearly English, others continental. Two examples are a fireside scene illustrating a mother and child (and two others) seated in front of a fireplace with a hanging cauldron, and an illustration of an amorous couple enjoying a dance as a violinist plays stage left. The cards depict both black and white characters, all of whom are wealthy or of high status, including soldiers, bishops, and men and women in fashionable dress. At the top of one card above the head of a man who reads from a sheet as he addresses a woman who looks down demurely, are the words "Mio ben.". On the verso of two cards are inscriptions in English. The first shows a figure in Shakespearean-era costume on the front and on the back, a quote from Twelfth night (Act II, Scene 5): "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” A second shows a couple sitting across from each other with an empty table between and on the back three stanzas from William Cowper’s The Diverting History of John Gilpin, first published in 1782
Description:
Title devised by cataloger. and In a later envelope inscribed 'Mlle. de Bernardy' and 'N. Anderson'.
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain
Subject (Topic):
Playing cards, Card games, and Social life and customs
"A game at whist at a round card-table. 'Betty' (left) holds out, with a triumphant grin, the ace of spades with which she is about to take the seventh consecutive trick. Her mistress, Miss Humphrey, sits on her left. The two men are said to be Tholdal, a German, who turns his head in astonishment towards Betty, and Betty's partner, Mortimer, [Or, according to Wright and Evans, Mr. Jeffrey (presumably the enemy of Mrs. Fitzherbert) and Watson (presumably the print-seller), but in 'Scientific Researches' (23 May 1802) the former is identified by Wright as Tholdal, and in 'Connoisseurs . . .' (16 Nov. 1807) 'Watson' is identified by him as Mortimer.] a picture-dealer and restorer. A scene in Bond Street, shortly before the removal to St. James's Street. This print (reversed) appears in Humphrey's shop window in Gillray's 'Very Slippy-Weather', 1808."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title, printmaker, date, and publisher from finished state. and Cf. No. 8885 in the Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum. Division I, political and personal satires, v. 7.
