The Ladies Bill of Fare, or, a Copious Collection of Beaux

The Ladies Bill of Fare, or, a Copious Collection of Beaux

George Wilson

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A humorous prospectus of suitors adorns this fan leaf. Each type is named, given a motto and shown in a characteristic pose. The array begins with the Merry Lover, who sports a round belly, and ends with the Lover of Nobody, who spitefully kicks a dog. The central verse advises: "Here's Gallants sure a plenty! Chuse then, a Beau to suit your mind, or change 'till one content ye."

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Ladies Bill of Fare, or, a Copious Collection of BeauxThe Ladies Bill of Fare, or, a Copious Collection of BeauxThe Ladies Bill of Fare, or, a Copious Collection of BeauxThe Ladies Bill of Fare, or, a Copious Collection of BeauxThe Ladies Bill of Fare, or, a Copious Collection of Beaux

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.