*"Monstrosities" of 1799 : scene, Kensington Gardens.
Asterisk and note to the left of caption title reads: For the origin of the Word consult the Johnnssonian [sic] Dictionary--Edition of 1799.
From the library of Gordon N. Ray.
Print shows two ladies walking arm-in-arm while a young man looks on. One of the women, short and fat, wears a round straw cap over a shock of hair which covers her eyes, she holds up a small jointed parasol to shield her face. The other, taller, wears a shovel-shaped scoop of straw tied to her head and projecting far beyond her face. Both have bare arms with long gloves, and transparent draperies which define the figure. The man wears an exaggerated Jean de Bry coat with high inflated sleeves, cut above the waist in front, with tails which show between his legs. A high swathed neck-cloth covers his chin and sets off bushy whiskers. His boots have high tasselled fronts above the knee and elongated toes. There is a background of trees with three other figures similarly dressed, one wears striped trousers of nautical cut instead of boots and pantaloons.
Ray, Gordon Norton, 1915-1986, former owner.