ticketsMember | Make a donation

How to Pluck a Goose

Publisher Thomas Williamson British
June 10, 1802
Not on view
A young officer playing the card game Cassino with three elderly expert females is the "goose" being plucked in this print. The women wear fashionable high-waisted dresses and feathered turbans, and the partners, at left and right, make genteel exclamations over the officer’s bad luck. Having already collected "a bumper," or unopposed string of eight tricks, they are about to conclude the game as the woman in spectacles displays a "great casino" (the ten of diamonds) and achieves the winning count of eleven. In Britain, decorum prevented women from visiting public gaming establishments, but allowed them to play for money in private. While the elderly players in Rowlandson’s print mask their skill with a veneer of gentility, the work reflects the widespread approbation aimed at women who enriched themselves by acting like male sharpers.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: How to Pluck a Goose
  • Artist: Thomas Rowlandson (British, London 1757–1827 London)
  • Publisher: Thomas Williamson (British, active 1801–25)
  • Date: June 10, 1802
  • Medium: Hand-colored etching
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 12 1/16 x 15 3/16 in. (30.7 x 38.5 cm)
    Plate: 9 15/16 x 12 5/8 in. (25.2 x 32 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
  • Object Number: 59.533.831
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Migrants, Thomas Rowlandson British, Watercolor
Migrants
Thomas Rowlandson
1780–1827
Going to Ivy Bridge, Thomas Rowlandson British, Watercolor
Going to Ivy Bridge
Thomas Rowlandson
1780–1827
The Sailor's Return from Active Service, Thomas Rowlandson British, Watercolor
The Sailor's Return from Active Service
Thomas Rowlandson
1780–1827
Departure of Blanchard and Jeffries' Balloon from Dover, January 7, 1785, Thomas Rowlandson British, Hand-colored etching
Departure of Blanchard and Jeffries' Balloon from Dover, January 7, 1785
Multiple artists/makers
January 1794
Ships and Sailors, Thomas Rowlandson British, Watercolor
Ships and Sailors
Thomas Rowlandson
late 18th–early 19th century

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.