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1961-208, Print
The Welch Curate
1961-208, Print

The Welch Curate

Date1770-1785
Publisher Carington Bowles (1724 - 1793)
Publisher Jonathan Carver (1710 - 1780)
OriginEngland, London
MediumMezzotint with line engraving
DimensionsPlate: 9 1/2" X 12"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1961-208
DescriptionThe lower margin reads: "Tho' lazy, the proud Prelate's fed,,/ This Curate eats no idle Bread/ Each Faculty and Limb beside,/ Eyes, Ears, Hands, Feet, are all employ'd./ His Wife at Washing_'Tis his Lot,/ To pare the Turnips, watch the Pot:/ He reads, and hears his Son read out;/ And rocks the Cradle with his foot/ THE/ WELCH CURATE.."
Label TextThis satire on the clergy shows the interior of a cottage in which a young poor clergyman sits at a table, with a large book open before him from which he appears to be reading, while his hands are engaged in peeling a turnip and with one foot he rocks a baby in a cradle, he likewise hears a boy read aloud from a book. A pot hangs over the fire; a cat looks out of the window; a print of a man riding on a goat hangs on the wall. The verses below the print insinate that the curate's wife is supporting the family by doing washing for others.