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D2007-CMD-0301
A SOCIETY of PATRIOTIC LADIES, at EDENTON in NORTH CAROLINA.
D2007-CMD-0301

A SOCIETY of PATRIOTIC LADIES, at EDENTON in NORTH CAROLINA.

DateMarch 25, 1775
Attributed to Philip Dawe
Publisher Robert Sayer (1725-1794) & John Bennett (fl. 1760-1787)
OriginEngland, London
MediumBlack and white mezzotint engraving
DimensionsOH: 18 1/2" x OW: 11 1/2"; Plate H: 14" x W: 10"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1960-132
DescriptionThe lower margin reads: "A SOCIETY of PATRIOTIC LADIES,/ at/ EDENTON in NORTH CAROLINA./ London, Printed for R. Sayer & J. Bennett, N.o 53 Fleet Street, as the Act directs 25 March 1775."

A group of women have gathered in the parlor of a fashionable home to sign a loyalty oath. A woman of stern countenance presides at one end of a table upon which rests the document to be signed. Inscribed on it is the following resolve:

We the Lady's of Edenton do hereby solemnly En-
gage to Conform to that Pernicious Custom of
Drinking Tea, or that we the aforesaid Ladys will
not promote ye wear of any Manufacture from En-
gland until such time that all Acts which tend to
Enslave this our Native country shall be Repealed.

One lady bends over the table to add her signature while on the other side another is distracted by the attentions of a gentleman who has intruded into the female sanctuary. Directly behind stand two women, one drinking an alternative to tea from a large punch bowl. In the doorway three women pour the contents of tea caddies into the hats of men who will take it away. Other empty caddies suggest the real sacrifice these ladies are making in behalf of the cause. The unknown maker has added a delicate touch to the otherwise stern reminders of the difficult times by placing a small child under the table playing with a miniature tea set. A pet dog affectionately licks the child's face while it urinates on a tea caddy.
Label TextThis print is one in a series of 5 that comment on the pre-Revolutionary plight of the colonies. This is the only one of the group in which the attention is directed to the female aspects of the controversy. The scene depicts a fashionable parlor, supposedly in Edenton, North Carolina, in which a group of women have gathered to sign an oath of loyalty, not to drink tea or wear English clothing.