Both fans bear the name of ‘G. Wilson,’ who appears on a number of fans of this period both as designer, engraver, and publisher, and evidently supplied designs, or stock, to other publishers.
Among the more successful humorous fans are those giving, in a series of medallions along the border of the fan, ‘A selection of Beau’s, Whimsical, Comical, and Eccentrical; or Candidates for the Ladies’ Favour’; and ‘The Ladies’ Bill of Fare, or a Copious Collection of Beaux.’ The various kinds of lovers are each provided with a suitable inscription above and below, as: ‘A Spark of some Conceit, Let me die if I don’t believe she thinks of me Night and Day,’ ‘A Man of high price, I am determined not to Marry any Woman under a Dutchess,’ etc. ‘The Merry Lover,’ and ‘I Live, Love, and Laugh,’ etc. In the centre of the fans, underneath a flying Cupid, are verses in further elucidation of the subject:
‘That simple thing—A woman’s Heart,
How oft ‘tis play’d upon;
What Beau’s oft cause its painful smart,
And triumph when they’ve done.’
‘Mark well our Motley Group above,
The little shun—the Honest love.’
and on ‘The Ladies’ Bill of Fare’:
‘To plague and please all womankind,