3-011-704 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Powder and Puff - drawn by James Godwin, 1862. 'Given, four-and twenty fiddlers all of a row - to say nothing of the "loud bassoon," and the performers on the clarinet; given, a group of candelabra glittering with innumerable wax-lights; an elaborately chalked floor, and a dazzling company, all redolent of "powder and puff," all...in embroidery spangles, well-curled wigs, toupees, flounces, ribbons, high-heeled shoes, silver-hilted swords, laced hats, embroidered waistcoats, quilted satin sacks, lace lappets, silk stockings and brocade - and we have...all the necessary elements for a Christmas ball in the olden time. Mr. James Godwin has made admirable use of the variegated wardrobe at his command...His beaux are the most exquisite of their species...as fastidious in the choice of their snuff as in that of their hair-powder. How deftly...do the couples pass beneath the triumphal arch specially erected for the passage of Sir Roger De Coverley's brilliant cortege. That Macaroni with glowing peruke looks as though he had studied manners under Lord Chesterfield, stateliness under Sir Charles Grandison, and the art of behaving at evening parties under the unrivalled and ugly Thidegger, "Directeur General des Plaisirs de la Grande Bretagne".' From "Illustrated London News", 1862.