Description
A bright and satirical postcard featuring James Gillray’s Temperance Enjoying a Frugal Meal, 1792.
Every detail in this domestic scene contributes to its picture of miserly parsimoniousness.
The snowdrops in the empty grate tell us that it is February and the decorative figure
above the flowers has its arms in a muff to emphasize the cold. George eats a boiled egg
using the tablecloth to double as a napkin to protect his patched breeches. His chair is
protected by a dust sheet, as is the bell-pull, and the carpet by a mat. He drinks water
(‘Aqua Regis’). Only one candle is in use, carefully snuffed to be re-lit. Charlotte shovels
sauerkraut into her mouth, but is bedecked with jewels and sits in front of a barred
strong-room.
