Hogarth, William (1697 London 1764). Ensnared by a Procuress. Mary Hackabout, innocent maid from Yorkshire and just alighted from the stage coach at the Bell Inn, is examined by the notorious Mother Needham, while in the door of the establishment the no less ill-reputed Colonel Francis Charteris – both will find their deserved end – has his own thoughts. Front right furthermore a goose almost strangulated by the address label: “For my Lofing Cosen in Tems Stret in London”. Engraving by Thomas Cook (c. 1744 – London 1818). Inscribed: Pl. I. / Designed by W. Hogarth. / Engraved by T. Cook / London, Published by G. G. & J. Robinson, Paternoster Row, April 1^st. 1798. and series title. 36.5 x 41.2 cm.

Harlots Progress I. – Harmonic impression of fine chiaroscuro on buff paper. In the lower right corner of the paper-margin nearly imperceptible waterstreak. – Cook “made a name for himself as Hogarth engraver, too, whose complete work he has engraved in copy” (Thieme-Becker) and whose original format he maintained contrary to all later Hogarth editions in his first, earlier edition. For some sheets not published by Hogarth himself Cook became their first engraver, just as he also gained approval of a contemporary connoisseur as Maximilian Speck von Sternburg. – The first sheet of the set:

“ With pure, even gentle innocence of his heroine (Hogarth) starts … the daughter of a poor country preacher in Yorkshire … Yet what the maid lacks of high beauty is made up with great profit by higher health, naive simplicity, and gentle purity. Her propriety, as one can see, is besides that of a sturdy, neat, honest country damsel something could be made of – and just that will happen ”

(Lichtenberg).

The original paintings of this set of six stations in the life of a prostitute from about 1730 were destroyed by fire already about 1755 by the way.
Offer no. 7,505 / EUR  373. / Export price EUR  354. (c. US$ 560.) + shipping

– – – The same in Hogarth’s own etching in the 3^rd state of 1744. Inscribed: A Harlots Progress Plate 1. / † / W^m. Hogarth inv^t. pinx^t. et sculp^t. 32 x 39.9 cm.

Nagler 17, 1; Illustrations Hogarth Catalog of the Tate Gallery, 1971/72, 57 (4^th state), Hogarth Catalog Zurich, 1983, 13 (this state), Bindman, Hogarth and his Times, 1997, 32 (1^st state). – Fine, contrast-rich impression, perhaps from the complete edition Boydell published 1790-1809. – On buff, virtually extremely wide-margined paper. In the margins minimally fox-spotted, upper right rather feeble waterstreak. Several smaller tears below backed acid-freely.
Offer no. 7,616 / EUR  251. / Export price EUR  238. (c. US$ 376.) + shipping

– – – – The same in Hogarth’s own etching, supposedly from the plate reworked by the royal engraver James Heath (1757 London 1834) about 1822 (“Even these impressions became relatively rare today though”, Art Gallery Esslingen 1970; and Meyers Konv.-Lex., 4^th ed., VIII [1888], 625: “A fine edition”). – On buff, extraordinarily wide-margined paper.
Offer no. 14,990 / EUR  220. (c. US$ 348.) + shipping

– – – The same in engraving by Carl Heinrich Rahl (Hoffenheim 1779 – Vienna 1843). (1818/23.) Inscribed: 7. / A Harlots Progress Plate 1. 21 x 26.8 cm.
Offer no. 7,617 / EUR  87. (c. US$ 138.) + shipping

– – – The same in engraving by Ernst Ludwig Riepenhausen (1765 Göttingen 1840, university engraver there). Inscribed: 7. / A Harlot’s Progress Plate 1. / W. Hogarth inv. pinx. Riepenhausen f. 19.7 x 24.5 cm. – Impression on especially buff paper, supposedly about 1850. – Riepenhausen’s engravings after Hogarth („very estimable“, Nagler) belong to his chief work and not least for their side-correctness they are partly even preferred to Hogarth’s own engravings.
Offer no. 7,618 / EUR  118. (c. US$ 187.) + shipping

– – – The same in lithography. (1833/36.) Inscribed: 13. / Der Weg einer Buhlerin. 1^tes. Blatt. 19.8 x 21.3 cm. – Extensive subtext à la Lichtenberg in German.
Offer no. 7,619 / EUR  135. (c. US$ 214.) + shipping

Complete copies of the set and further single plates available .

„ … Die (vom Schwiegervater geerbten Par force-Jagd) Ridinger … habe ich in meinem Arbeitszimmer bestens neben einem Gobelin plaziert und möchte sie nicht mehr verkaufen. Besten Dank und ein Kompliment an Ihr Haus, dass sie nach so vielen Jahren noch an mich gedacht haben “

(Herr K.-A. H., 2. Februar 2004)