The Harlots Progress. A set of six 18th.Century copper engravings after William Hogarth 1697-1764. An unusual set of plagiarised prints from an unspecified edition with floral borders to left and right reversed from Hogarth's original set of engravings of 1731. 35 by 25 cms each, presented in modern sanded slip ebonised frames.
William Hogarth was born in London, the son of a schoolmaster and writer from Westmoreland. After apprenticeship to a goldsmith he began to produce his own engraved print designs satirising contemporary customs, of which the first was The Harlot's Progress (1731), and perhaps the most famous being The Rake's Progress. His engravings were so plagiarised that he lobbied for the Copyright Act of 1735, commonly referred to as 'Hogarth's Act,' as a protection for writers and artists.