Three Principal Requisites to Form a Modern Man of Fashion

Thomas Rowlandson

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Three men distinguished by their outfits represent different London types. The figure at right is "Dress[ed] Like a Coachman" and says "I think this will do–what do you say old one–shall I give you a lift." At center, a man described as a "Study Boxing and Bull Baiting" says "What do ye say Jack – will you sup with me to night–there will be only the Ruffian and Dutch Sam a D–d snug party" ("Dutch Sam" was Samuel Elias, a Jewish pugilist from Holland who became England's boxing champion 1811–14. The "Ruffian" was a nickname applied to several boxers). At right, a dandy dubbed "Speak the Slang Language Fluently" says "Vat you dont know Slang eh–pretty company you are for a Gemmen [gentleman]."

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art