The RIVAL MILLENERS.

Date1772

After work by John Collet (1725?-1780)

Engraver Robert Laurie

Publisher Robert Sayer (1725-1794)

OriginEngland, London

MediumMezzotint on laid paper

DimensionsOverall: 10 5/8 × 14 1/2in. (27 × 36.8cm) Other (Plate): 9 7/8 × 13 1/4in. (25.1 × 33.7cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1955-125

DescriptionThe lower margin reads: "John Collet pinx.t/ Rob.t Laurie fecit./ Publish'd as the Act directs, 2.d March 1772./ The RIVAL MILLENERS./ From Sarah Woodcock, to the Girl,/ That's doom'd the humble Mop to twirl,/ All Milleners delight in show,/ And cry__'Tis will have that Beau./ Printed for Rob.t Sayer, N.o 53 in Fleet Street, London."
Label TextMilliners made accessories for men’s and women’s wardrobes such as ruffles, caps, and aprons. In the American Colonies, milliners imported a variety of fashionable wares in addition to the items they made. They retailed imported fancy goods like tea, gloves, fans, jewelry, and stockings.

Though meant to be a satire on courtship, this print also shows how shopping became a pastime rather than a necessity in the 18th century. The customer is seated in a comfortable chair while the milliners wait on him. Part of this individualized experience included being shown boxes of wares and possibly being served refreshments with tea or coffee. In Williamsburg, milliner Margaret Hunter had an enslaved woman who was a fine pastry chef.

This verse and the title suggest that milliners, often young unmarried women, were flirtatious and in search of husbands. It refers to Sarah Woodcock, who was a milliner in Tower Hill, London. In 1768, she accused Frederick Calvert, the 6th Baron Baltimore, of abduction and rape. Baltimore, who had a reputation for womanizing and kept many mistresses, was acquitted because the court decided Woodcock had not made efforts to escape.