Industry and Idleness

Hogarth's series 'Industry and Idleness' is a cautionary tale in which two apprentices set out from adjacent looms to arrive at very different destinations. The industrious 'prentice rises through the ranks, marries the Master's daughter, becomes an Alderman and finally reaches the very highest station he could have hoped for: Lord Mayor of London. In the final picture we see him in the procession going to take office, and around the frame the cornucopiae stand for his great prosperity and happiness.

The industrious 'prentice Lord Mayor of London

His counterpart is condemned by idleness and delinquency to drift into a life of crime. Finally betrayed by the prostitute whose garret he shares, he is sentenced - by the industrious apprentice, now Sheriff of the City - to the gallows at Tyburn.

The idle 'prentice executed at Tyburn

Hogarth was a philanthropist and was motivated to create these and other improving works by concern for the plight of the poor: he said that they were "calculated for the use and instruction of youth, wherein everything necessary to be known was to be made as intelligible as possible", and by the standards of the day they were lurid, horrifying spectacles likely to have a great impact on the viewer. The prints were sold for a shilling each, or 12/- the set: much cheaper than other such works, but still well beyond the means of most apprentices, however industrious.

The Lord Mayor's Show appears in many other works of art and literature...

Take part in the Lord Mayor's Show

If you'd like to take part in next year's Show, please get in touch with the Pageantmaster's office soon. It's a fantastic way to boost your profile, raise morale and do something for charity all at once, and the procession is usually full by late spring.

Credits

The Lord Mayor's Show is organised and directed by the Pageantmaster, Dominic Reid OBE. This site has been built and managed by spanner since its launch in 1996, and currently runs on a modified version of radiant and rails. It is entirely paid for by the kind sponsorship of the London Stock Exchange.

Get in touch

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to write to us. For press enquiries: Lesley Mair at the City of London press office. For general enquiries, or to take part: Anna Marra in the Pageantmaster's office. For problems with the website or suggestions for new pages: William Ross at spanner.

The Lord Mayor's Appeal

The Appeal for the year 2007-8 will benefit ORBIS and Wellbeing of Women.

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