Industry and Idleness

The Idle 'Prentice Executed at Tyburn — Plate 11 of 12 of the series, showing the final reward of idleness

Industry and Idleness is the title of a series of 12 plot-linked engravings created by the English artist William Hogarth in 1747, intending to illustrate to working children the possible rewards of hard work and diligent application and the sure disasters attending a lack of both.[1] Unlike his earlier works, such as A Harlot's Progress (1731) and Marriage à-la-mode (1743), which were painted first and subsequently converted to engravings, Industry and Idleness was created solely as a set of engravings. Each of the prints was sold for one shilling each so 12 shillings for the entire set,[1] which is equivalent to £120 in 2023.[2] It may be assumed that these prints were aimed for a wider and less wealthy market than his earlier works. The originals currently reside at the British Museum.

  1. ^ a b Ronald Paulson, ed. (1965). Hogarth's Graphic Works ("First Complete Edition" ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 194. Quote from an advertisement of the then new prints: "This Day is publish'd, Price 12s. Design'd and engrav'd by Mr. HOGARTH, TWELVE Prints, call'd INDUSTRY and IDLENESS: Shewing the Advantages attending the former, and the miserable Effects of the latter, [...]
  2. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.