The doctors in labour, or, A new whim wham from Guildford [graphic] : being a representation of [the] frauds by which [the] Godliman woman, carried on her pretended rabbit breeding; also of [the] simplicity of our doctors, by which they assisted to carry on that imposture discover'd their own skill, & contributed to [the] Mirth, of His Majesties liege subjects.
- Published/Created:
- [London?]
[publisher not identified],
[1726] - Physical Description:
- 1 print : etching ; sheet 35.2 x 26 cm
- Notes:
- Title etched above images.
- Abstract:
- Print with twelve panels relating to the affair of Mary Toft, "the rabbit breeder": from top left, she is held aloft by two men and a Harlequin or Merry Andrew, she has a rabbit in either hand; she pursues a rabbit while working in a field; she dreams of being impregnated by rabbit, Cupid is shown on a cloud beside her bed holding a rabbit in either hand; she is seated in a chair attended by two women while the two men and Harlequin discuss the monstrous birth; Harlequin demonstrates that he can express milk from her breast; Harlequin feels "the rabbets leapin in her belly" while two men look on; she sits on the edge of a bed and Harlequin kneels to seize a rabbit that emerges from her skirts while a doctor raises his hands in surprise, wishing to anatomize the animal; Harlequin stands behind a table holding a balance in which he weighs dung removed from the rabbit explaining to two men that this will allow him to judge whether the animal had "breath'd in air"; doctors and midwives discuss the phenomenon around a table and Harlequin enters claiming that the birth must be "praeternatural"; a crowd of gentlemen are welcomed to the bagnio in Leicester Square where Toft is housed; two men spy from the door to Toft's room as another hands her a dead rabbit; Toft, weeping, is led away to Bridewell by two constables while Harlequin "sits upon Repenting stool, Cursing his fate in being made a Fool. See British Museum online catalogue.
- Variant Titles:
- New whim wham from Guildford
- Topics:
- Births.
Brothels.
Christianity.--http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85025219
Cupids.
Demonology.--http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85036663
Fools & jesters.
Fraud.
Law enforcement.
Physicians.
Pregnant women.
Rabbits.
Superstition.--http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85130658 - Topics:
- Toft, Mary,--1703-1763--Caricatures and cartoons.
- Language:
- English
- Genre:
- Etchings--England--1726.
Satires (Visual works)--England--1726. - Format:
- Image
- Content Type:
- Prints & Photographs
- Rights:
- These images are provided for study purposes only. For publication or other use of images from the Library's collection, please contact the Lewis Walpole Library at walpole@yale.edu. Further details on the Library's photoduplication policy are available at http://www.library.yale.edu/walpole/html/research/rights_reproductions.html
- Call Number:
- 726.00.00.26+
- Orbis Record:
- 13772832
- Yale Collection:
- Lewis Walpole Library
- Digital Collection:
- Lewis Walpole Library
- Local Record Number:
- lwlpr36912
- Citation:
- Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum. Division I, political and personal satires, v. 2, no. 1781
- OID:
- 16704467
- PID:
- digcoll:4679449
