Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

"The Entertaining History of Little Jack" [School piece or Penmanship sheet]

After John Bewick British
Publisher Laurie & Whittle British
Author Related author Thomas Day British
November 10, 1806
Not on view
This printed sheet is decorated at the top and sides with images that illustrate Thomas Day's "The Entertaining History of Little Jack." A vignette along the bottom shows a boy running in a landscape towards a goat. "The Story of Little Jack" was first published in 1788 with illustrations by Bewick and belongs to a genre that focused on stories centered on orphans or foundlings.
The work comes from a genre known as writing sheets, writing blanks, penmanship exercises, letter sheets or school pieces, published in Britain from the 1660s to 1860s and used by students to demonstrate their handwriting abilities. This example never used. While the publisher dated this print 1806, the paper is watermarked 1815, demonstrating that the printing plate was used over a long period.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "The Entertaining History of Little Jack" [School piece or Penmanship sheet]
  • Artist: After John Bewick (British, Eltringham, Northumberland baptised 1760–1795 Ovingham, Northumberland)
  • Publisher: Laurie & Whittle (British, active 1794–1836)
  • Author: Related author Thomas Day (British, London 1748–1789 Berkshire)
  • Date: November 10, 1806
  • Medium: Etching and engraving; late impression
  • Dimensions: Plate: 17 1/8 × 13 1/4 in. (43.5 × 33.7 cm)
    Sheet: 17 13/16 × 13 3/4 in. (45.3 × 34.9 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1964
  • Object Number: 64.501.21
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Puss in Boots, an entertaining School-Piece: by Young Slyboots [School piece or Penmanship sheet], Laurie & Whittle British, Etching and engraving; late impression
Puss in Boots, an entertaining School-Piece: by Young Slyboots [School piece or Penmanship sheet]
Publisher Laurie & Whittle
November 13, 1802
Stroh Violin, George Evans & Co. English, Mahogany and aluminum, British
Stroh Violin
George Evans & Co.
first quarter 20th century
Reclining Female Nude, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch, Etching, drypoint, and engraving on Japanese paper; second of six states
Reclining Female Nude
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
1658
Game Table, Thomas Day American, Cherry, mahogany veneer, mahogany, conifer (secondary wood), American
Game Table
Attributed to Thomas Day
ca. 1850
Commemorative jug, White-glaze Parian ware porcelain, British
Commemorative jug
British
ca. 1845

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.