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[31] ‘God’s pennies’ was the term used for advance payment made when work begun.
As a ship-surgeon, Gulliver would earn 24 shillings a month. For the estimated voyage of 3 years, that would be the equivalent of £3,844.31 today. But of course, you could buy larger quantities of the fewer merchandize that was available back then, with this amount.
Mary and her children could have survived handsomely on the advance until Gulliver’s return – if he would return…
Depiction of Distributing Alms to the Poor, albeit in France. The engraver of this work is a woman, whose family's business was engraving. Clearly, this occupation wasn't considered idle art 300 years ago, as it would be today. You could compare engravers of the 18th century to documentary makers of the 21st century.
Do you think that we as a society, ought to support the poor?
Louise-Magdeleine Horthemels (1686-1767)
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