Print of the Day: Foote, the Devil and Polly Pattens, 1773

"Foote, the Devil and Polly Pattens"
February, 1773
From "The Macaroni & Theatrical Magazine"
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The George Speaight Archive at
The Victoria & Albert Museum

From the February, 1773 edition of “The Macaroni & Theatrical Magazine” (here, “macaroni” refers not to pasta, but to a dandy gent), we see a print entitled “Foote, the Devil and Polly Pattens”

The Mr. Foote in question was a very popular Eighteenth Century actor.  He is depicted with characters from the Punch & Judy tradition—“Pretty Polly” and “The Devil.”  At this time, Mr. Punch was almost a century into his stay in Britain and had transitioned, in most cases, from a marionette to a glove puppet. 

However, here, Punch is depicted as a human man.  He enters from stage left wearing a tall silk hat, partially obscured by the curtain.  Also pictured—in addition to Foote--are Harlequin who holds a cudgel to Polly’s noggin and a be-wigged gent in court dress whose identity is unknown.  He is, most likely, a rival for Polly’s affections. 

Polly was a major character in the puppet play of the Eighteenth Century.  She has since fallen into disuse, however, as the story originally went, it was Punch’s lust for Polly which caused him to kill Judy.