Samuel Hieronymus Grimm
What is this my Son Tom

What is this my Son Tom

Public Domain

What is this my Son Tom
ArtistSwiss, 1733–1794, active England
PublisherLondon, 1774/77–1784
CultureEnglish
Titles
  • What is this my Son Tom
Date1774
PlaceEngland
MediumMezzotint on laid paper
DimensionsPlate: 13 7/8 × 9 7/8 in. (35.2 × 25.1 cm)
 Sheet: 14 3/16 × 10 in. (36 × 25.4 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by Jack S. Blanton, Jr. in honor of William J. Hill
Object numberB.2015.7
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Chippendale Bedroom
On view

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Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
DescriptionSatirizing the macaroni fad of the 1770s, this print depicts a father’s surprise at his son’s embrace of this fashion. Typical elements include the tight fitting clothes, large sword and walking stick, and the impossibly tall wig surmounted by a tiny hat.
Provenance[Joel R. Bergquist Fine Arts, Nashville, Tennessee]; purchased by MFAH, 2014.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Recto: Inscribed in printed ink, below image, left: Our wise Forefathers would express / Ev'n Sensibility in Dress ; / The modern Race delight to Shew / What Folly in Excess can do :
Recto: Inscribed in printed ink, below image, center: What is this my Son Tom.
Recto: Inscribed in printed ink, below image, center bottom edge: London, Publishede by R. Sayer & J. Bennett No. 53 Fleet Street, As the Act directs 24 June 1774 .
Recto: Inscribed in printed ink, below image, right: The honest Farmer, come to Town, / Can scarce believe his Son his own / If thus the Taste continues Here, / What will it be another Year?

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