Enchanting 1800s MARSHALL WOOD Antique Engraving \"The Seamstress\" Framed COA
![Enchanting 1800s MARSHALL WOOD Antique Engraving \](img-large/g/oagAAOSwtJZXV6si/s-l1600/Enchanting-1800s-MARSHALL-WOOD-Antique-Engraving-T.jpg "Enchanting 1800s MARSHALL WOOD Antique Engraving \")
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Enchanting 1800s MARSHALL WOOD Antique Engraving \"The Seamstress\" Framed COA :
$234.00
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Artist:Marshall Wood (British, 1834-1882)
Title: The Song of the Shirt
Medium:Antique engraving on wove paper after the original Sculpture by master engraver William Roffe.
Year:1869
Condition: Excellent
Dimensions: Image Size 3 1/8 x 7 inches.
Framed dimensions: Approximately 13 x 16 inches.
Framing: This piece has been professionally matted and framed using all new materials.
Additional notes:
This is not a modern print. This engraving is more than 140 years old. The strike is crisp and the lines are sharp.
Extra Information:
\"The Song of the Shirt\" is a poem written by Thomas Hood in 1843. It was written in honour of a Mrs. offerdell, a widow and seamstress living in wretched conditions. In what was, at that time, common practice, Mrs. offerdell sewed trousers and shirts in her home using materials given to her by her employer for which she was forced to give a £2 deposit. In a desperate attempt to feed her starving infants, Mrs. offerdell pawned the clothing she had made, thus accruing a debt she could not pay. Mrs. offerdell, whose first name has not been recorded, was sent to a workhouse, and her ultimate fate is unknown; however, her story became a catalyst for those who actively opposed the wretched conditions of England’s working poor, who often spent seven days a week labouring under inhuman conditions, barely managing to survive and with no prospect for relief. The poem was published anonymously in the Christmas edition of Punch in 1843 and quickly became a phenomenon, centering people’s attention not only on Mrs. offerdell\'s case, but on the conditions of workers in general. Though Hood was not politically radical, his work, like that of Charles Dickens, contributed to the general awareness of the condition of the working class which fed the popularity of trade unionism and the push for stricter labour laws. \"Work — work — work! From weary chime to chime, Work — work — work, As prisoners work for crime! Band, and gusset, and seam, Seam, and gusset, and band, Till the heart is sick, and the brain benumbed, As well as the weary hand. \"Oh! but to breathe the breath Of the cowslip and primrose sweet — With the sky above my head, And the grass beneath my feet; For only one short hour To feel as I used to feel, Before I knew the woes of want And the walk that costs a meal! \"Oh! but for one short hour! A respite however brief! No blessd leisure for Love or Hope, But only time for Grief! A little weeping would ease my heart, But in their briny bed My tears must stop, for every drop Hinders needle and thread!\" -Tom Hood
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Enchanting 1800s MARSHALL WOOD Antique Engraving \"The Seamstress\" Framed COA :
$234.00