Editing William Hogarth (section)

====''Harlot's Progress'' and ''Rake's Progress''====
[[File:The Rake's Progress 8.jpg|thumb|''[[A Rake's Progress]]'', Plate 8, 1735, and retouched by Hogarth in 1763 by adding the Britannia emblem<ref>[[#JBN1833|J. B. Nichols, 1833]] [https://archive.org/details/anecdoteswillia01hogagoog/page/n237 p.192] "PLATE VIII. ... Britannia 1763"</ref><ref>[[#JBN1833|J. B. Nichols, 1833]] [https://archive.org/details/anecdoteswillia01hogagoog/page/n238 p.193] "Retouched by the Author, 1763"</ref>]]

In 1731, Hogarth completed the earliest of his series of moral works, a body of work that led to wide recognition. The collection of six scenes was entitled ''[[A Harlot's Progress]]'' and appeared first as paintings (now lost)<ref>Einberg, ''William Hogarth: A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings'', nos. 21–26.</ref> before being published as engravings.<ref>Ronald Paulson, ''Hogarth's Graphic Works'', 3rd edition (London: The Print Room 1989), nos. 121–126.</ref> ''A Harlot's Progress'' depicts the fate of a country girl who begins prostituting&nbsp;– the six scenes are chronological, starting with a meeting with a [[Madam (prostitution)|bawd]] and ending with a funeral ceremony that follows the character's death from [[venereal disease]].<ref>Cruickshank, Dan (2010). ''London's Sinful Secret: The Bawdy History and Very Public Passions of London's Georgian Age''. Macmillan. pp. 19–20. {{ISBN|1429919566}}.</ref>

The inaugural series was an immediate success and was followed in 1733–1735 by the sequel ''[[A Rake's Progress]]''.<ref>For the paintings, see Einberg, ''William Hogarth: A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings'', nos. 74–81. For the engravings, see Paulson, ''Hogarth's Graphic Works'', 3rd edition, nos. 132–139.</ref><ref>[http://www.artoftheprint.com/artistpages/hogarth_william_arakesprogresscompletesetofeight.htm ''Hogarth's The Rake's Progress'' and other of his works].</ref> The second instalment consisted of eight pictures that depicted the reckless life of Tom Rakewell, the son of a rich merchant, who spends all of his money on luxurious living, services from prostitutes, and gambling&nbsp;– the character's life ultimately ends in [[Bethlem Royal Hospital]]. The original paintings of ''A Harlot's Progress'' were destroyed in the fire at [[Fonthill Abbey|Fonthill House]] in 1755; the oil paintings of ''A Rake's Progress'' (1733–34) are displayed in the gallery room at [[Sir John Soane's Museum]], London, UK.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Rake's Progress|url=http://www.soane.org/collections_legacy/the_soane_hogarths/rakes_progress|work=Sir John Soane's Museum|access-date=13 December 2013|year=2012}}</ref>

When the success of ''A Harlot's Progress'' and ''A Rake's Progress'' resulted in numerous pirated reproductions by unscrupulous printsellers, Hogarth lobbied in [[Parliament of Great Britain|parliament]] for greater legal control over the reproduction of his and other artists' work. The result was the [[Engraving Copyright Act 1734|Engravers' Copyright Act]] (known as 'Hogarth's Act'), which became law on 25 June 1735 and was the first copyright law to deal with visual works as well as the first to recognise the authorial rights of an individual artist.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Verhoogt|first1=Robert|title=Art in Reproduction: Nineteenth-century Prints After Lawrence Alma-tadema, Jozef Israels and Ary Scheffer|date=2007|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|location=Amsterdam|isbn=978-9053569139|pages=15–16|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jSDnRo7YrWwC|access-date=13 December 2014}}</ref>