Mr. Bunbury del. Js. Bretherton f. [ink mss.]
[London: J. Bretherton, 1781.]
Hand coloured etching, proof before letters on 18th century watermarked laid paper, sheet 380 x 340mm. 15 x 13". Trimmed to plate.
A woman sitting beside a spinning wheel in a landscape, pinning a corsage of flowers at her breast, a dog curled up asleep at her feet; behind at right two figures, one on horseback, travel along a path towards a tower in the distance. After Henry William Bunbury (1750 - 1811), illustrating ‘Sweet William's Farewell To Black-Ey'd Susan: A Ballad’ by John Gay (1685 - 1732). The lettered state of the print in inscribed with a line from Gay: 'The peerless maid that did all maids excel'. The print is a pair with 'Susan'.
[Ref: 16083]  £160.00