2-871-253 - Shirley Markham Collection/Heritage Images

A wig shop, c1780-1825. 'The two old ladies examining a girlish headdress displayed by the wigmaker are delightfully satisfied with the model, if one can judge from their expressions. No doubt the wigmaker has convinced them that this special coiffure will reduce their age immeasurably, while the assistant patiently holds a mirror until the critical trying-on moment takes place. Even the poodle's head is trimmed in such a way as to resemble his mistress' wig'. From "The Watercolour Drawings of Thomas Rowlandson from the Albert H. Wiggin Collection in the Boston Public Library" with commentary by Arthur W. Heintzelman. [Watson-Guptill Publications, Inc., New York, 1947]