On April 20, 1734, Pinchbeck advertises:
‘The Old Man’s Folly.—In this Fan is represented an old Miser, who at the age of Fourscore had the Vanity to court a young lady of Twenty; she despises his Addresses, and Cupid shoots Thunder at his Head: in this Dilemma, Bacchus invites him to a Banquet at the Nectarius Grove; whilst the Eye of Heaven shines propitious on the Raptures of a youthful couple.
‘Where may be had
‘The abject, wretched state of an Old Maid, and divers other curious Fans; the Designs taken from the best Masters.’
These two fans had been announced earlier by Pinchbeck on Jan. 15th of the same year, as follows:—
‘Just Published.... The Amours of an Old Batchellor, or the Downfall of Sir Limberham; likewise the four different Stages of Life; or the abject, wretched State of an Old Maid. To each of these Fans are prefix’d, Verses suitable to the Occasion, which explain the Design.’
M. Gamble, on August 11, 1739, advertises
‘A new Fan, wherein is delineated a Damsel bewailing the Loss of her Lover, who is represented as cast away in a Storm.
‘Where may also be had, a Fan lately publish’d entitled The Sailor’s Wedding, being made to the glorious and immortal Majesty of Queen Elizabeth.’
‘Before and after Marriage’ gives expression to an idea which also supplied a favourite motif for English and especially Staffordshire pottery. On a cream ware jug, with illustrations of courtship and matrimony, we have the following couplets expressive of the two contrasting conditions:—
‘In courtship Strephon careful hands his lass
Over a stile a child with ease might pass.’