At the time that Hogarth lived, we were not compelled to have our
receipts sanctioned with a royal stamp; but upon the receipts given
by Hogarth, there was "the stamp of genius, the broad seal of
nature!" Whoever paid a subscription had a written acknowledgment
beneath a little print. This invariably abounded in wit, but had
seldom any immediate allusion to the series with which it was
presented.[170] His great works I consider as giving not only a
general mirror of the human mind, but a history of the local and
temporary customs of the day when they were published. I have
therefore arranged them in the order they were engraved; and thinking
that the receipts, or less important prints, would break the chain by
which they are in a degree connected, I have reserved the following
short memoranda for an appendix:--