John Whessell after John Boultbee

The Durham Ox.
To The Right Honorable Lord Somerville, This Print is with great respect humbly dedicated, by his Lordship's most obedt. humble Servant John Day. This wonderful Animal is now the property of Mr. John Day of Harmston, near Lincoln, and was March 20 1802, six years old. Subscriptions taken for this Print in the first Year, amounted to two thousand and upwards, from whence the Public opinion of this beautiful Animal may well be ascertained…

32 x 28 inches

It is hard to imagine the excitement generated by cattle of this magnitude in Georgian England. The Durham Ox is one of the most famous of these extraordinary beasts that were bred to be disproportionately large and then taken on a grand tour around the country. In 1802, the year of this print, the Durham Ox had arrived in London and spent most of that year being gawped at by crowds who came to marvel at its size. It weighed in at an astonishing 171 stone and required a special carriage drawn by four horses to transport it around. A huge number of prints were produced at the time and sold in the print shops of London as a souvenir of this astonishing creature. After touring almost continuously for 5 years from 1801-1806 the ox sadly collapsed on leaving its carriage and had to be slaughtered in 1807; a short lived but spectacular career as one of our most celebrated farm animals.