One Days Sport of Three Real Good Ones. The Corinthians making it up...by showing the Johnny Raws how to Grog it

Art Historical Context

In 1823, British artist Henry Thomas Alken renowned for his lively depictions of sporting life and caricatures, created this hand-colored lithograph, published by Thomas McLean.itled *One Day's Sport of Three Real Good. The Corinthians making it...by showing the Johnnyaws how to Grog*, it captures a boisterous moment of male revelry. Alken's scene satirizes the Corinthian gentlemen-athletes—a real early 19th-century sports known for cricket and footballdemonstrating the art of heavy drinking ("grogging it") to wide-eyed novices, or "Johnny Raws." Accompanied by loyal dogs, the inebriated figures stumble through their "sport," poking fun at the excesses of Regency-era leisure. This print exemplifies the rise of lithography in Britain, a technique that allowed for detailed, reproducible images enhanced by vibrant hand-coloring, making satirical works accessible to a broad audience. At 11 5/8 × 15 15/16 inches, its intimate scale suited parlors and clubs. Alken's whimsical style, blending humor with acute social observation, highlights the cultural tension between athletic ideals and drunken indulgence, a common theme in Georgian satire. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (gift of Harry G. Friedman, 1962), it offers a cheeky glimpse into Britain's rowdy sporting heritage.

About the Artist

Henry Thomas Alken|Thomas McLean (British|British) · 1785 |1788 –1851 |1875

British, London 1785–1851 London|British, 1788–1875