22/2002-2

Collection

Paintings, Prints and Drawings

Brief description

‘LANGLEY'S New Twelfth Night CHARACTERS’, shop interior with people admiring a Twelfth Night cake, coloured engraving on an envelope, printed and published by Langley & Co in London, 1818.

Title

LANGLEY'S New Twelfth Night CHARACTERS

Object name

envelope

Object number

22/2002-2

Production organisation

Langley and Company (publisher)

Production date

1818 (published)

Production place

London (published)

Period

Georgian (1714-1837)

Material

paper

Technique

printed
engraved

Physical description

Envelope with a hand coloured engraving within a border with publication line printed at the bottom left of the image and with a printed message below.

Content description

The envelope has a hand-coloured engraving depicting the interior of a cake shop with a man, three women and a young boy admiring a large Twelfth Night cake on top of the shop counter. Behind the counter there is a gilded mirror and shelves with various jars and containers. The Twelfth Night cake is decorated with a crown, a Union Jack flag and a band of fleur de lys and Maltese crosses. There is an inscription at the bottom of the print.

Content object

window
chair
table
frame

Dimensions

Height: 10cm
Width: 15cm

Website keywords

Christmas food and drink

Label

Caption for 2013 & 2014 Advent Calendar, Day 12:

The last day of Christmas, 5 January, was traditionally marked by Twelfth Night celebrations. These festivities often included a cake, like the one shown in this 1818 engraving. The cake would contain a bean or charm and whoever found the bean would be named king or queen for the day.