William Hogarth (1697-1764)
‘Industry and Idleness XII: The Industrious ’Prentice Lord-Mayor of London’ (October 1747)
[Second state] Etching and engraving on copper; printed on laid paper.
Francis Goodchild has risen from his position as an apprentice to be Lord Mayor of London. In the triumphant procession down Cheapside on the way to the Mansion House, Goodchild’s coach, in which he is hardly visible, rolls past surging crowds, while the Prince of Wales and his attendants smile down from the balcony of the King’s Head Tavern on the right. The huge crowds comprise roadsweepers and beggars, soldiers and lovers, ballad-sellers and gin-sellers. But the last figure we see on the extreme right of the image, is an old pedlar, holding up a broadside, ‘A full and true Account of ye Ghost of Tho. Idle’. Tom’s ghostly presence still haunts Goodchild’s righteous life.
Industry & Idleness 
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