Urban pleasure grounds
Bartholomews Fair, John Nixon, 1813, Watercolour
London's parks, gardens, tea rooms and fairs, were places where all classes brushed shoulders.
For the satirist they provided a subject of a gathered crowd, made up of a variety of London 'types' which could humorously contrasted. The fashionable and aspiring set at the Mall, the poor at St. Giles and all classes colliding at Covent Garden at an election rally or the Southwark Fair.
The main print depicts the Bartholomew Fair, which was held on 24 August every year. It was one of the most important social events of the year and was opened by the Lord Mayor. The carnival atmosphere can be seen in the watercolour with people enjoying entertainments such as swings, theatre performances and acrobats.