Catalogue Number
NMLH.1992.504
Object Name
Mug
Title
GOD SPEED THE PLOUGH/ verse: LET THE WEALTHY AND GREAT ..... SUCCESS TO THE FARMER
Place
England & UK
Description
This modern reproduction of a nineteenth century mug probably dates from the 1970s and is titled GOD SPEED THE PLOUGH. A variety of agricultural implements are shown on one side, surrounded by the farmer, his wife and farm animals. The other side comprises a poem in praise of the farmer's lifestyle, declaring him to be self-sufficient and content. There is also the legend INDUSTRY PRODUCETH WEALTH. By 1861, over half the population were living in towns; people in the late Victorian period often liked to think of agricultural labour as being a pleasant, comfortable lifestyle in harmony with nature. This was rarely matched by reality.
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