At that old favourite the Lewis Walpole Library site I came across a lovely series of four prints entitled “Elements of skateing” published by Hannah Humphrey on 24th November 1805.
The first is sub-titled “A fundamental error in the art of skaiting”
It reminds me of one time when I went skating on a first date with a girlfriend, and crashed into the professional skating teacher, sending her sprawling. It was only then that my date admitted to me that she was a member of the Olympic skating team – and that I had well and truly blown it in the romance stakes!
The second in the series is called “Making the most of a passing-friend, in case of an emergency!”
The third one is “Attitude! attitude is every thing!” and shows the importance of adopting a stylish pose:
The last in the series is called “The consequence of going before the wind.” It combines that new-fangled invention the umbrella with the perils of ice skating:
And to end with, Gillray’s “Fine bracing weather” from 1808, part of his group describing different weather conditions, and showing a happy if rotund gentleman whizzing along on skates.
The first cartoon is more interesting when one remembers that the rear on which the man is sitting was often called the fundament.