The new country dance, as danced at C****, July the 30th 1766 LCCN2004672612

What you are looking at

This is a satirical etching depicting a procession of fashionable figures arranged in a long line across the composition, each identified by inscribed labels and accompanied by scrolled speech balloons. The figures are rendered in 18th-century dress—women in elaborate gowns with wide skirts, men in coats and breeches—and they appear to be executing a country dance formation. The setting is minimal: a flat ground line with no interior or landscape detail, allowing the focus to remain entirely on the figures and their supposed identities. At the top of the composition, two figures ride on a broomstick in the sky, engaged in a scatological act directed downward at the line of dancers below, establishing the print's obscene political allegory. The entire scene is framed as a "country dance," using the formal structure of an actual social dance as the vehicle for lampooning prominent political figures of 1766.

The dancing

The figures stand and move in a linear formation typical of country dance, with bodies oriented downstage and positioned at intervals along a single file or double file. Individual dancers are shown with arms extended or held at the sides, their postures suggesting the processional, rhythmic movement of a line dance rather than the intimate partnered holds of a minuet. The women's full skirts occupy substantial space, and the men stand upright in formal posture. The variety of stance and arm position across the line suggests sequential movement through a dance figure, though no two bodies are in identical positions—the artist has captured different moments in the progression rather than a frozen moment of unison.

The dance depicted

This is a country dance, a popular social form of the 18th century in which multiple couples or a larger group progressed through coordinated figures in a line or set formation. Country dances were performed at all social levels but were especially prominent in provincial assemblies and country houses; they were more relaxed and less formally choreographed than the minuet, allowing for greater variety and audience participation. The print uses the country dance structure not to document its actual steps but as a framework for political caricature—the formal orderliness of the dance serves as the organizing principle for the satire. The title's reference to the specific date and location (July 30, 1766) suggests this depicts or alludes to an actual occasion, though the engraving's primary purpose is allegory rather than reportage.

How it was made

This is an etching, a relief printmaking technique in which an image is scratched into an acid-resistant coating on a copper plate, then the plate is immersed in acid to bite the lines. Etching allowed for fine detail and sharp contrasts between figure and ground, making it ideal for satirical portraiture and the small inscribed labels that identify each dancer. The technique was widely used for political and social satire in 18th-century Britain, as it was relatively quick to produce, could be printed in multiple copies, and was inexpensive enough to circulate among a broad urban audience. The fine hatching visible in the figures' clothing and the precision of the facial features are characteristic of etched line work.

About this work

This is a political satire in the form of a country dance, a popular 18th-century social form. The etching arranges prominent figures from British public life—politicians, courtiers, and other notables—in the linear formation of a country dance and labels each with witty or defamatory inscriptions. The dance structure serves as the organizing principle for the satire, allowing the artist to comment on relationships and hierarchies among the figures through their relative positions and interactions within the formation. Country dances were democratic, participatory events that crossed class boundaries, and their use here as a framework for lampooning the powerful creates a deliberate irony: the formal orderliness and communal pleasure of the dance become the stage for mockery and obscene invective. The print is a document both of how country dances were structured and performed, and of the visual and verbal languages of 18th-century political caricature.

How to look at it

Examine the line formation first: the figures are arranged in a procession that follows the typical structure of a country dance, either in a longways set (two lines facing each other) or a processional line. Look at the individual body positions and arm placements—each figure is shown in a different pose, suggesting the continuous movement and directional changes of the dance form. Then read the inscriptions: each figure is labeled, often with punning or defamatory text, and the speech balloons above record witty or scatological remarks attributed to the dancers. The obscene gesture at the top—the figures on the broomstick—indicates that the print's apparent subject (a charming dance) is a cover for political invective. The artist expects you to recognize both the dance form and the identities of the prominent figures to understand the satire.

The period

Country dances flourished in 18th-century Britain, particularly from the 1680s onward, and were described in published collections such as John Playford's *The English Dancing Master* (first published 1651, repeatedly updated). They were performed at assemblies, private houses, and country celebrations, and were seen as a distinctly English form, less rigid and more accessible than French courtly dances like the minuet. By the 1760s, country dances were well established in both urban and provincial social life. The etching belongs to a vigorous tradition of British political satire that flourished in the mid-18th century, when engraved prints became a primary medium for political commentary and mockery. The date of 1766 places the work in a period of considerable political tension in Britain, particularly around questions of colonial policy and the powers of Parliament.

Where it lives

The work is held in the British Cartoon Prints Collection and is known through the Library of Congress (LCCN 2004672612). It was sourced to this catalogue from Wikimedia Commons, where it circulates as a public-domain image.

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