The Bottle: Plate VII. The Husband in a State of Furious Drunkenness Kills His Wife...by lithographers Francis Michelin and David William Moody

The Bottle: Plate VII. The Husband in a State of Furious Drunkenness Kills His Wife...by lithographers Francis Michelin and David William Moody

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Description
This black and white tinted print depicts one of eight scenes based on George Cruikshank's The Bottle. The series shows the progressive degeneration of a family due to the evils of drinking. This print depicts an interior scene of a crowd gathered around the body of a dead woman. The weapon, a broken bottle, lies on the floor at her feet. The husband stands next to the fireplace and is being seized by a policeman. Another policeman consoles the crying daughter. The son, also crying, stands next to the fireplace.
This series of prints is by the English artist George Cruikshank (1792-1878). Cruikshank’s father, Isaac Cruikshank, was an artist who specialized in song sheets and caricatures and trained George and his brother Robert Cruikshank in these arts. George started as a caricaturist for magazines and children’s books. His most famous works included The Bottle and The Drunkard’s Children, designed and etched by Cruikshank to show the wickedness of alcohol. Cruikshank's father and brother were both alcoholics, and he himself drank heavily until he took a vow of abstinence in 1847. The prints were originally published by David Bogue, who published most of Cruikshank’s other works in the 1850s. David Bogue, (1807–1856) was born in Scotland and moved to London in 1836. He began working in Charles Tilt's bookshop as a publisher and bookseller in 1836 and became Tilt's partner in 1840. Bogue bought the shop in 1843. He was the principle publisher of Cruikshank’s short-lived periodicals, brief illustrated stories, and the Comic Almanack 1835-53. David Bogue published The Bottle series in 1847. He suffered from heart disease and died in 1856 at the age of 48.
This print was produced by Francis Michelin (1809/10-1878) and David William Moody. Francis Michelin was a lithographer who was active in Boston from 1840-1841 and soon after moved to New York City, where he continued to make lithographs with various partners. His partners included Michelin & Cuipers (1844-1845), Michelin & Leefe (1852-1853), Michelin & Shattuck (1853-1854) and Boel & Michelin (1856-1858). David William Moody was also a lithographer. He was active in New York City from 1844-1851. He lived in Williamsburg, New York.
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
Lithograph
Object Type
Lithograph
Date made
ca 1847
maker
Michelin, Francis
Moody, David William
original artist
Cruikshank, George
place made
United States: New York, New York City
Physical Description
paper (overall material)
ink (overall material)
Measurements
image: 8 1/2 in x 13 in; 21.59 cm x 33.02 cm
ID Number
DL.60.2900
catalog number
60.2900
accession number
228146
Credit Line
Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection
subject
Drinking
Municipal Government
Marriage
Children
Lighting
Temperance
See more items in
Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
Clothing & Accessories
Family & Social Life
Temperance Movement
Art
Domestic Furnishings
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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