1862 (year of production) Wood engraving mounted on grey card
165 x 300 mm. Purchase: Puttick and Simpson Auctioneers, Leicester Square, London 1924
Doyle's 'Bird's-Eye Views of Society'- series consists of sixteen images which were published in Cornhill Magazine between April 1861 and October 1862. Doyle wrote humorous articles to accompany each image.
Drawing room scene: Ladies and gentlemen in evening dress are placed in groups or individually around the room, seated or standing. Two large, square mirrors adorn the right wall, a large oval mirror the rear wall. Two servants serve coffee to the group seated in the centre. A young woman with a huge crinoline is seated in the front in the right-hand corner, smelling a flower bouquet. Doyle's initials and 'dicky' bird are in the lower left-hand corner, the engraver's signature on the lower margin. The paper is yellowed with age, has some staining and two folds.