Vauxhall Gardens (Thomas Rowlandson)

What it is

This is an engraving by Thomas Rowlandson, dated 1785, showing an 18th-century outdoor pleasure garden at Vauxhall. Musicians' galleries and supper-boxes stand at left, with crowds of fashionably dressed men and women and tall trees overhead. The image is a digital reproduction with restoration credited to Adam Cuerden. The figures in the supper-box include James Boswell, Mrs Thrale, Dr Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith. Many other people are also named, but some identifications are only suggested and not certain.

Why it matters

The scene shows Johnson as a celebrity among London society in the 1780s. Vauxhall was a fashionable place for public display, and Rowlandson filled his print with recognisable writers, actors and fashionable people. The image reveals how the famous were drawn into popular entertainments, and it shows that the identities of many people in such prints are argued over by historians.

Look closer

• Who are the people in the supper-box, and what does their placement tell you about who was important?
• Which figures does the caption say are only probably identified, and why might historians disagree?
• What might a crowded pleasure-garden print leave out about the ordinary visitors and workers at Vauxhall?