“The White Sergeant or the Petticoat Government.”

No.40 A.jpg

Creator

George Cruikshank

Title

“The White Sergeant or the Petticoat Government.”

Coverage

London

Publisher

Printed for Charles Baldwyn, Newgate Street

Date

MDCCCXXIV

Subject

Woodcut vignette

Description

A sketch of poor Mr. H., "a very respectable law-stationer," who resisted the dictates of Mrs. H, and as a result, suffered much in the hands of the law.

By the mid-18th century, Bow Street, near Covent Garden, was known for where everyday crimes and petty disputes met the law. These woodcut vignettes depicting amusing scenes of everyday urban life initiated a new popular genre in book publishing, the most celebrated example of which was Sketches by Boz, written 12 years later by another young journalist, Charles Dickens, also illustrated by Cruikshank.

Source

Source: Mornings at Bow Street; A Selection of the Most Humorous and Entertaining Reports Which Have Appeared in the Morning Herald. By Mr. Wight (Bow Street reporter for the Morning Herald). With Twenty-One Illustrative Drawings by George Cruikshank.

Relation

From the collection of Josephine Lea Iselin.