"The Melton Breakfast"

by Francis Grant

Print from an Engraving

Paper Size: 27 x 35 ins / 67 x 88 cm

Image Size: 22 x 30 ins / 54 x 74 cm

First published by Hodgson & Graves, Pall Mall, on 1st October 1839. The dimensions of this photogravure differ somewhat from those of the original mezzotint and the names of the characters portrayed are engraved in the margin of this later version. The print depicts a group of eminent visitors to Melton for the hunting season. Many were guests at the big houses in the locality, others lodged elsewhere. The Meltonians were known for their dashing style - in dress as well as in the saddle. This hunt's reputation for dandyism has persisted to our own day: the 'Meltonian' brand of shoe-polish is said to be based on a recipe used for the polishing of the Meltonian huntsmen's boots.

watermarks do not appear on prints