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The Dandy and his Postillion–or the Waay to laugh up Hill

Attributed to William Heath ('Paul Pry') British
Publisher Thomas Tegg British
1819
Not on view
A dandy astride a velocipede is pulled uphill by a large dog urged on by a monkey-groom. A less fortunate rider carries his vehicle on his shoulder and mops his brow. Heath devoted a series of satires to velocipedes--foot-propelled bikes popularly known as hobbies--in response to a craze that swept fashionable London in 1819. That year Denis Johnson promoted a British model that he based on an 1817 design developed in Baden by Baron Karl von Drais (called a Laufmachine (running machine) or Draisine). The craze soon subsided as accidents mounted, and high fines were issued to those who rode on sidewalks.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Dandy and his Postillion–or the Waay to laugh up Hill
  • Artist: Attributed to William Heath ('Paul Pry') (British, Northumbria 1794/95–1840 Hampstead)
  • Publisher: Thomas Tegg (British, London 1776–1846 London)
  • Published in: London
  • Date: 1819
  • Medium: Etching, hand-colored
  • Dimensions: Plate: 9 3/4 × 13 3/4 in. (24.7 × 35 cm)
    Sheet: 10 9/16 × 15 3/8 in. (26.9 × 39 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund and Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, by Exchange, 1970
  • Object Number: 1970.541.154
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

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A Change in the Petticoats, or the Years 1780 &1817, William Heath ('Paul Pry') British, Hand-colored etching
A Change in the Petticoats, or the Years 1780 &1817
Attributed to William Heath ('Paul Pry')
Publisher Thomas Tegg
1817
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Harquebusier's Armor of Pedro II, King of Portugal (reigned 1683–1706) with Buff Coat
Armorer Armor attributed to Richard Holden
Armorer Helmet cheek pieces and metal plates on shoulder straps made by Daniel Tachaux
ca. 1683 and later; buff coat, 17th–18th century
Nocturne: Palaces, James McNeill Whistler American, Etching and drypoint; printed in dark brown ink on drum mounted medium weight ivory laid paper.
Nocturne: Palaces
James McNeill Whistler
1879–80
The Cameleopard, or a new hobby, William Heath ('Paul Pry') British, Graphite
The Cameleopard, or a new hobby
Attributed to William Heath ('Paul Pry')
Subject George IV, King of Great Britain and Ireland
Subject Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham
1827
The grammar of ornament, Owen Jones British, Chromolithography
The grammar of ornament
Author Owen Jones
Illustrator Francis Bedford
Publisher Day & Son, Ltd., London
1856

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