Description:

This is a hand coloured etching by Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827) published by T Tegg, London. It is headed 'Teggs Caricatures, No.55', and shows the midwife as a blowsy, obese aged woman, who has been called out on a squally night, her hooded red cloak battling with heavy wind and rain. She wears pattens (shoeblocks to protect against mud on the cobbles) and a blue-ribboned straw hat over a white cap. She carries a lighted lantern, a bundle and a drink bottle. To the left is a watchman asleep in his box, with another lantern on a pole. To the right is a chimneysweep with tools and bag.