Dandy’s Toilette. 1. Shaving. 2. Stays. 3. The Patch. 4. Dress’d

A rare complete set of satirical engravings depicting a young man (the dandy of the title) in various preparations of getting dressed.

Rare Irish issued engravings with full margins and unfaded original hand colouring.

1.. Seated at a dressing table; lather is on his face and he is shaving using a cut throat razor. He wears a tight pair of bright blue trousers, red slippers, a white shirt and a pair of red braces. His servant stands behind him, holding a pair of stays. On the dressing table in front of the dandy is a shaving bowl, a linen cloth underneath; a shaving brush, a large jug, a bottle labelled of ‘Curling Fluid’ and various other labelled containers for ‘Palm Soap’, ‘Windsor Soap’ and a bottle labelled ‘Renova Tor’. Beside the dressing table is a shoe rack, with two pairs of shoes (black pumps); underneath this a pair of black boots is hanging up while underneath them, lying discarded on the carpet are a pair of riding boots (one of which appears to have a last in it). Also on the carpet is a scroll of paper that has written on it “Fancy Ball”; underneath this lies a letter with the words “Miss Stephens” visible on it. Adjacent to this a volume containing a music score lies open on the floor, with the title “Quadrille Dances” visible, and across this lies a flute. An open trunk with a white linen shirt hanging over the edge of the trunk, a pair of black boots and a boot jack [also known as a boot pull, a small tool that aids in the removal of boots] are positioned nearby. On the table next to the dandy’s servant, lies a pair of spurs. On the wall behind is a framed contemporaneous satirical print of two women and two dandies entitled [published under various titles – “A Pair of Lancers” and “Female Lancers [and] Noodle and Doodle”], while above this is a small shelf of books – one is by Ovid; another has the spine title “Monk” [a reference to the gothic novel, ‘The Monk: A Romance’, by Matthew Gregory Lewis, published in 1796] while underneath this on the shelf is a book entitled “Kiss of Secund” [a reference to English translations in verse of Johannes Secundus’ ‘Liber Basiorum’ or ‘Basia’, (‘Book of Kisses’, first complete edition published in1541)]. A trunk of linen lies open in the background.Set of four:

2. The young man being assisted by his manservant (who stands immediately behind him), engaged in tightening his stays. He wears a voluminous pair of trousers of green coloured cloth, tight narrow black boots, a white shirt with a very high, stiff collar and a neckerchief of white material with a pattern of red dots. On the dressing table is a broadside with the title ‘Morning Amusements’; printed underneath this is ‘Sig. Girmondi / Dancing Dogs / Monkeys’. [Advertisements appeared in Dublin papers in 1817 and 1818 for ‘Signor M. Girmondi’s Sagacious Performing Dogs’; see ‘The Freeman’s Journal’ for 19 September, 1817]. As the dandy looks into the mirror on the dressing table, in front of him on the surface of the table are several bottles – a bottle labelled ‘Curling Fluid’, another labelled ‘Musk’, one labelled ‘Russian Oil’, another labelled ‘Otto of Roses’, various brushes, palm soap and a bottle with the label ‘Soda Water’ can just be seen in the background. Beside the dressing table is a small dog wearing a collar with the word ‘Dandy’ on it; he looks up at his master. Adjacent to the dog is a chair, on which lies a music score, with the title ‘Quadrille Dances’ visible. A pair of fine yellow kid-skin gloves and a top hat lie on top of the music score, while a thin walking cane is propped up against the chair. On the carpet near the chair, a book lies open on a page with the words ‘Ovids / Art / of / Love’ printed on it. A pair of red slippers, two lasts and a boot jack [also known as a boot pull, a small tool that aids in the removal of boots] lie discarded on the carpet. A jacket in a fabric of bright blue can be seen on a chair in the background; adjacent to this is a table, with a small vase of flowers and a book. Above this, on the wall is a framed print entitled “A Group of well known Dandies”, while adjacent to this hanging on the wall is a small bookshelf – the spine titles of some can be seen – two volumes, both entitled ‘Cupid’; others are ‘Amatory Poems’, ‘McCres[?] Anacreon’ and two copies of a book entitled “Kisses of Secundis” lie at the top and bottom of the book shelf. [The Anacreontic Society was a gentlemen’s club of amateur musicians in London founded in the mid-18th century by professional men (the then Prince of Wales was also a member), who named their club after the Greek court poet Anacreon, whose poems, “anacreontics”, were used to entertain patrons. The society was known for their interest in music and presented concerts of music and suppers].

3. The dandy being assisted by his manservant (who stands immediately behind him), holding a jacket of bright blue material with gold buttons while his master, holding a small box labelled ‘Patches’, looks into the mirror of the dressing table in front of him and applies a patch to his face, while admiring his own reflection. He wears a voluminous pair of trousers of green coloured cloth, tight narrow black boots with spurs, a waistcoat of yellow silk and a white shirt with a very high, stiff collar. A monocle hangs on a chain around his neck [and what appears to be a fob watch? from his waist]. On the dressing table are various bottles – one labelled ‘Bloom water’, another (just seen) labelled ‘Rose Water’; two brushes, pieces of linen, several pieces of paper, a pair of red braces and a small volume entitled ‘Charms of the Patch’. A chair next to the dressing table has a bicorne hat on it, [what appears to be] a red telescope, a book and a small miniature of a young woman rests on top of this volume. Discarded on the floor is an elastic collar. A walking stick lies across a closed trunk in the far corner. A top hat lies on a table in the background; adjacent to this a jug and bowl sit on another piece of furniture. Above this, pair of stays hangs from the wall. A framed print on the wall, entitled ‘Progress of the Toilet’, depicts a maid assisting her mistress in dressing, tightening her stays. Her mistresses looks into the mirror in front of her as she does so. Hanging on the wall in the background of the room they are in, is a print of a striding man, wearing a bicorne hat and holding a walking stick; this print [within a print] has the title ‘Dandy’ printed within the image.

4. The final plate show the Dandy with his manservant, who stands immediately behind him and who is engaged in using a clothes brush on a jacket of bright blue material that the dandy wears, while he looks into a full length mirror in front of him, adjusting his high collar. The dandy wears a top hat of black silk, voluminous pair of trousers of orange coloured cloth, tight narrow black boots with spurs, a very high, stiff white collar and a neck kerchief of white material with red coloured spots. A monocle hangs on a chain around his neck [and what appears to be a fob watch from his waist]. He holds a small narrow cane walking stick. On the dressing table situated next to the mirror are various bottles, a brush, a comb, and boxes while a black trunk is on the floor, adjacent next to the dressing table. A small black dog, wearing a collar with the word ‘Dandy’ on it looks up at his master, beyond him a boot jack [also known as a boot pull, a small tool that aids in the removal of boots] lies on the carpet. In the foreground of the image lies a book, open at a page that reads: “Gallery / of / Fashion / Dedicated / to the / Beau Monde”, on the opposite page is an image of a woman wearing a hat, holding an umbrella. At left on a chair is a volume of a book, behind this on a table is a peaked cap. Two rapiers hang on the wall in the background, beside these hangs a framed contemporaneous print of a man and a woman greeting one another, their ridiculous clothing impeding their salutations. A small bookshelf hangs on the back wall; on it are several volumes, with the following spine titles ‘Rochester’ [about or works by John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, (1647-1680), a famous libertine], ‘The Soph’ [possibly a reference to ‘Les Lettres à Sophie’? a collection of love letters and correspondence between Mirabeau, written when in captivity at the Vincennes dungeon and his mistress, Sophie de Monnier, who was locked up in a convent at Gien, first published in 1792]; ‘Kisses Secundus’ [a reference to English translations in verse of Johannes Secundus’ ‘Liber Basiorum’ or ‘Basia’, (‘Book of Kisses’, first complete edition published in1541)], ‘Ovids Art of Love’, ‘Amator’, ‘Caliphae’ [possibly a reference to ‘Vathek’ a Gothic novel written by William Beckford, where the title character is a caliph] and a volume that lies on the top shelf has a spine title ‘Kisspol Sectness [?]’. A small bust of Venus, with an animated expression, is positioned is profile on an adjacent rococo console shelf bracket, facing in the direction of the bookcase.