Friday, July 14, 2006

The Original Version

Taken from Wikipedia: "The earliest printed version gives a rather different picture of the three tradesmen-

Hey rub-a-dub-dub, ho! three maids in a tub, And who do you think were there? The butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker, And all of them gone to the fair.

'Apparently,' say the editors of The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, 'they have been found in a place where no respectable townfolk should be, watching a dubious side-show at the local fair.'"

4 comments:

Adrian Ropp said...

This is pretty incredible, Joe. Your drawing skill is catching up to your concept skill, which means I'll soon be unemployed.

Thank you for the history lesson, too!

S.T. Lewis said...

Nice drawing, Joe! The guy in front kind of reminds me of a Muppet. And you did some research, which is far more than I put into it. Makes me want to go to the fair... because I already know I'm not respectable. Good work, Joe.

Seth Hippen said...

Ay, Caramba! I knew the circus was a dangerous place. I'm just glad it wasn't the bearded lady in the tub. Nice work, Joe.

Ken Chandler said...

I had to close my eyes, so I can't give a very good review of your drawing-- okay, I saw it for that brief moment before realization dawned on me. Ha! Love their expressions Joe. Y'know, for a guy without an art background, you've got the skills to pull off your conceptuals.

Knowing it's origin makes the more modern interpretation make more sense. I'm sure some apalled townsfolk wanted to make this rhyme more 'kid friendly' so that made them all knaves in a tub at sea, and got rid of the fair and the maids. Now I know!