The Post Office
Medium
Hand-colored etching and aquatint
Dimensions
Sheet: 5 1/2 × 8 1/8 in. (14 × 20.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
Accession Number
59.533.1620(22)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Created in 1813, *The Post Office* captures a lively moment at a British postal station during the height of the mail coach era. This hand-colored etching and aquatint, produced by the collaborative efforts of engraver Joseph Constantine Stadler, artist James Green, caricaturist Thomas Rowlandson, and publisher Rudolph Ackermann in London, reflects the bustling activity of early nineteenth-century travel and communication. The scene features men and women alongside horses, highlighting the essential role of postal services in connecting people across Regency England. Rowlandson’s characterist...