"The Prince of Wales, languid with repletion, leans back in an arm-chair, holding a fork to his mouth. His waistcoat is held together by a single button across his distended stomach. On his right a circular table covered with the remains of a meal, with decanters of 'Port' and 'Brandy', a castor of 'Chian'. Under the table, partly covered by the cloth, are empty wine-bottles. Behind the chair (right) a brimming chamber-pot stands on a table or commode on which are long bills: 'Poulterers Bill . . . unpaid, Butcher's Bill . . . unpaid, Baker's Bill . . . unpaid', and (on the ground) 'Doctors Bill'. In the foreground (right) lie a dice-box and dice with three books: 'Debts of Honor Unpaid', 'Newmarket List', and 'Faro Partnership Account Self Archer Hobart & Co.' On a shelf behind the Prince (right) is a triple stand of jelly-glasses, among which is a small pot: 'For the Piles', and a bottle: 'Drops for a Stinking Breath'. Beside it are a box of 'Leakes Pills', and a bottle of 'Velnos Vegetable Syrup' (see BMSat 7592). On the wall above is a candle-sconce with a burlesque coat of arms for the Prince: a plate with a crossed knife and fork, with his motto, coronet, and feathers; one candle is stuck in a wine-bottle, the other in a wine-glass. Above the Prince's head is a round picture in an elaborate frame inscribed 'L. Comoro, Ætat. 199 [sic]': a half length portrait of a man with a long beard drinking from a glass inscribed 'Aqua'. (Luigi Cornaro of Padua, 1467-1566, published 'Discorri della vita sobria . . .', a treatise on the means of living to extreme old age, describing the ascetic diet by which he had recovered health and vitality when in danger of death at the age of forty. Portrait by Tintoretto, Pitti Palace.) A carpet covers the floor. Through the window is seen the (unfinished) colonnade of Carlton House."--British Museum online catalogue.
Description:
Companion print to: "Temperance enjoying a frugal meal." and Title engraved below image.
Publisher:
H. Humphrey, No. 18 Old Bond Street
Subject (Name):
Auchincloss, Hugh Dudley--Ownership., George--IV,--King of Great Britain,--1762-1830--Caricatures and cartoons., Harvey, Francis--Ownership., and Humphrey, Hannah, active 1774-1817, publisher.
