William Hogarth - Print, admission-ticket (BM 1860,0728.57)

Benefit ticket for Spiller: the comedian standing with a burning taper under a set of scales, on a pile of tickets for his benefit performance labelled 'Box', 'Pit' and 'Gall[ery]', handing them to people on the left who put their payment on that side of the balance, while a bailiff on the right taps him on the shoulder, holding out a 'Writ' and creditors add their bills for 'Tripe', 'Gin', Tobacco', 'Ale', 'Beer' tto the balance, the largest being 'The Taylor's Bill'; with a scroll looped over the top of the scales labelled 'For the benefit of Spiller', the ends reaching a window of a tavern on the left and the window of a debtor's prison on the right. ?March 1720
Etching