The Lucky Escape, or Jolly Carpenter

Published by Robert Sayer in 1793, this mezzotint depicts a group of people outside a well-kept cottage. The woman pleads with the central man, knelling before him and grasping his hand. He looks down at her but is turned away by the man on the right, who is dressed as a sailor. In the distance is a ship at anchor. There is a caged bird hanging from the cottage and a plough in the right foreground.

The lower section of this print originally included an inscription of a ballad by Charles Dibdin, titled here ‘The Lucky Escape… or Jolly Carpenter’ but also published elsewhere as ‘The Carfindo’. This impression has been cut down, removing the ballad. ‘The Carfindo’ tells the story of a ploughman who is tempted by stories of adventure to join his friend – a ship’s carpenter (or ‘carfindo’) – at sea. Yet, the ploughman finds seafaring disagreeable, especially as he endures battles, rough seas and hurricanes. He regrets his decision and returns home to his wife, promising to never leave again.

Through a description of the ploughman’s plight, the viewer is encouraged to sympathise with the hardships the sailors endure, but equally the ballad is condemnatory of leaving your home for a life at sea.