Fable: The Boasting Traveler n.d.

Thomas Bewick made this small wood engraving called 'Fable: The Boasting Traveler.' It's based on a story by Aesop, where a traveler boasts of great feats, like jumping further than anyone else in Rhodes. A witness then tells him that if what he says is true, he should show them the jump right here and now. Bewick was working in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a time of huge social change. He was commissioned to make small vignettes like these, and tail-pieces, for books and pamphlets. There was a growing reading public, but strict hierarchies were still in place. Bewick often filled his images with scenes from ordinary life, or with references to the ancient world. His images served a moral purpose and they were aimed at a broad audience. They would have invited viewers to reflect on social conduct. Looking at Bewick's wider body of work, and the publications he contributed to, helps us understand how this modest engraving reflects a shifting social landscape.