Fishing was seen as a means of escaping urban congestion, offering the working man relaxation. Mr Briggs’s front-room construction of this contemplative sport is rather more frenetic, as his line knocks candlesticks, picture frames and vases from the mantel piece. Briggs’s shocked wife and children look on at his frenzy, as a painting of a
fish smiles mockingly down at him. Leech saw himself as a family man, and built up a repertoire for the day-to-day wit of the Victorian home.

Inscriptions / Translations:  Signed lower left: J. Leech

Notes:  A slightly different version was published in 'Punch', XIX, 1850, p. 78, and another version was reproduced in colour and published by Bradbury & Evans.

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