Jack on a Cruise

This print was published in 1780 by Sayer and Bennett. It depicts a sailor following a young woman in a park. She wears a large hat and a dress which projects at the back. She holds a parasol and looks coyly to the left. The sailor walks behind her wearing a striped suit. His arms are folded and he carries a cane. A small dog runs beside them. On the right a high pedestal supports an urn. In the background is a domed classical pavilion. Beneath the title is engraved, ‘Avast there, back your Mainsail’.

The title, ‘Jack on a Cruise’, uses maritime vocabulary to allude to sexual activity. Like a ship a ship might cruise in search of enemy vessels, ‘Jack’ is cruising in search of a potential sexual partner. The inscription compares the woman’s dress to a ship’s main sail in a commentary on the extravagance of fashionable clothing of the period.