The present image was published as a hand-coloured print in January 1807 by the print-publishing partnership of Robert Laurie and James Whittle, at
their premises on Fleet Street, London.
The published print was accompanied by the song, ‘Poll of Horsely Down’, which tells the story of the seaman Captain Oakham, who courts and falls in
love with the eponymous Poll. In Cruikshank’s image, the Captain is shown having been knocked down by a passing porter as he stood in the road admiring Poll. The turtle on the porter’s head is indicative of the lucrative trade in live sea turtles during the late Georgian period. Turtles were imported into Britain in huge numbers, driven by high society’s obsession with turtle soup. The dish was the ultimate culinary status symbol at aristocratic banquets and civic feasts, such as the Lord Mayor’s banquet in London. After asking Poll’s father for her hand in marriage and escorting her around town, he prepares to marry her, only to discover another man in her chambers. The song ends with Captain Oakham throwing the man out of the window
and bidding farewell to Poll.
The song was first performed at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in around 1804 by the famous clown and performer, Joseph Grimaldi. it seems to have been written by the English dramatist Charles Dibdin the Younger (1768-1833).
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