Sir John Harrison Translator of Aristo_ &c. Promo Augusti anno Domini 1591 ætatis suæ 30.
[n.d. c.1800.] Etching. Sheet 100 x 75mm (4 x 3"). Trimmed and laid on album paper. Oval portrait of John Harington (c.1561-1612), courtier of Elizabeth I, author and reputed inventor of the flush toilet, a clock in the background. His translation of Ariosto's 'Orlando Furioso' caused his banishment from court. He installed his flush toilet, called 'Ajax' (a pun on the slang 'jakes' for toilet) at his manor in Kelston and published a humorous book, under the pseudonym of Misacmos, called 'A New Discourse upon a Stale Subject: The Metamorphosis of Ajax'.
[Ref: 37796] £75.00
(£90.00 incl.VAT)