Lady Betty Besom, Bath, Or a fairing for the year 1777, presented by Ladyship to her beloved Consort. DARLEY (Matthew).
Etching. [316 x 229 mm].
London: M. Darley, 1st July, 1777. [ebc3202].
Trimmed to just within the plate mark, the margins reinforced from behind on three sides.
A caricature showing Juliana Popjoy, aka Lady Betty Besom, riding side saddle as she leaps over a wall, which is lettered "The sacred Boundary of Discretion". She is turned away, showing only the rear of her enormous wig. In the foreground there is a "Stool of Repentance", a mop lettered "Marriage portion" and various documents relating to marriage, such as "The Nuptial tete-a-tete", "Advice to a married woman, dedicated to Lady Betty Besom" and "The disappointment, an Ode to the tune of Woe is me".
Juliana Popjoy (1714-1777) was the daughter of an inn keeper from Bishopstrow, near Warminster. A dressmaker, she is said to have met Richard Beau Nash in London in about 1740, and she returned to Bath as his mistress. She gained further notoriety for her grey horse, which she propelled by means of a many-thonged whip, gaining the name Lady Betty Besom. Darly waited until the year of her death before commenting on her choice of lifestyles.
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