The Idle 'Prentice Executed at Tyburn

This engraving was made by William Hogarth as part of a series entitled 'Industry and Idleness.' The prints illustrate the lives of two apprentice weavers from Spitalfields. The hard working apprentice eventually becomes Lord Mayor of London whilst the lazy apprentice is hanged for highway robbery.

In this picture Hogarth depicts the execution of the latter, Tom Idle, at Tyburn. The famous triangular gallows known as the 'triple tree' can be seen in the background with the hills of Highgate and Hampstead visible beyond. Public executions drew enormous crowds and shops would close for the occasion. In Hogarth's scene a grandstand has been erected for the spectators. Gin is being sold in the crowd. The condemned man is accompanied in his cart by a Methodist preacher and is shown reading the Bible. A street hawker appears in the foreground selling 'The last dying speech and Confession of Tho. Idle'. The lives of criminals were often recounted in popular broadsheets. Hogarth gave each picture in the series a decorative border. This one features skeletons and a quotation from the Book of Proverbs.