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An episode in the play Beslikte Swaantje, en Drooge Fobert; of de boere rechtbank, by Abraham Alewijn, act III. Swaantje (right) is pregnant by the son of the Lord of Puijteveen, but Fobert (weeping on the left) is mistakenly accused of the paternity: he is defended by his lawyer

1 print : engraving ; image 24.3 x 35.7 cm

A courtroom hearing a paternity suite: a lawyer pleads for his client before the bench. Engraving by P. Tanjé, 1752/1761, after C. Troost.

1 print : aquatint, with watercolour ; image 19.7 x 25.8 cm

Bridewell Hospital, London: the interior of the pass-room with women and children, some lying on palliasses. Coloured aquatint by J. Hill after A. C. Pugin and T. Rowlandson.

A man is visible through an open door, perhaps the father of the child

A physician examining a urine specimen in which a faint figure of a baby is visible, a female patient is crying and being shouted at by her angry mother, indicating that she is pregnant. Watercolour by I.T., 1826.

The action takes place at night: the watch is present with his lantern. The bachelor and his servants have come to the door. The implication is that the bachelor is the baby's father, and the young woman watching from the street corner is the mother, who has left the baby outside his front door, where it has been discovered by the watch. The house is in the street called Providence Row, which is in Bethnal Green, London

1 print : engraving ; image 16.6 x 22.8 cm

A baby has been left outside the town-house of an old bachelor, and a young woman watches from the corner of the street. Engraving, 1794.

History of the Second World War; United Kingdom civil series

Studies in the social services / by Sheila Ferguson and Hilde Fitzgerald.

Unmarried mothers being brought before a court hearing and judged severely. Woodcut.

Penguin handbooks.

A Penguin handbook

The single woman's guide to pregnancy and parenthood / Patricia Ashdown-Sharp ; drawings by Margaret Belsky.

1 print : stipple engraving ; platemark 25.9 x 50.5 cm

Six vignettes on a design for a fan illustrating how to lead a moral and happy life. Stipple engraving, 1797.

Single and pregnant / Sally Macintyre.

2 unnumbered pages, 16 pages, 1 unnumbered page : illustrations ; 24 cm

Is this pregnancy? : what to do next, 3 stages of pregnancy, what to eat, what to wear, how a baby is born / [by Jennifer Gibb] ; [drawings by Judith Coney].

iii-xvii, 256 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm

Single mothers  - the first year : a Scottish study of mothers bringing up their children on their own / by Angela Hopkinson ; with a foreword by John C. Spencer.

The home that Jill built : a follow-up study of single mothers who set out to bring up their chilren on their own / Judith Lamotte in collaboration with Julie-Ann Macqueen.

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A courtroom hearing a paternity suite: a lawyer pleads for his client before the bench. Engraving by P. Tanjé, 1752/1761, after C. Troost.

Bridewell Hospital, London: the interior of the pass-room with women and children, some lying on palliasses. Coloured aquatint by J. Hill after A. C. Pugin and T. Rowlandson.

A physician examining a urine specimen in which a faint figure of a baby is visible, a female patient is crying and being shouted at by her angry mother, indicating that she is pregnant. Watercolour by I.T., 1826.

A baby has been left outside the town-house of an old bachelor, and a young woman watches from the corner of the street. Engraving, 1794.

Studies in the social services / by Sheila Ferguson and Hilde Fitzgerald.

Unmarried mothers being brought before a court hearing and judged severely. Woodcut.

The single woman's guide to pregnancy and parenthood / Patricia Ashdown-Sharp ; drawings by Margaret Belsky.

Six vignettes on a design for a fan illustrating how to lead a moral and happy life. Stipple engraving, 1797.

Single and pregnant / Sally Macintyre.

Is this pregnancy? : what to do next, 3 stages of pregnancy, what to eat, what to wear, how a baby is born / [by Jennifer Gibb] ; [drawings by Judith Coney].

Single mothers - the first year : a Scottish study of mothers bringing up their children on their own / by Angela Hopkinson ; with a foreword by John C. Spencer.

The home that Jill built : a follow-up study of single mothers who set out to bring up their chilren on their own / Judith Lamotte in collaboration with Julie-Ann Macqueen.

Social insecurity : single mothers on benefit / Jane Streather and Stuart Weir.

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A courtroom hearing a paternity suite: a lawyer pleads for his client before the bench. Engraving by P. Tanjé, 1752/1761, after C. Troost.

Bridewell Hospital, London: the interior of the pass-room with women and children, some lying on palliasses. Coloured aquatint by J. Hill after A. C. Pugin and T. Rowlandson.

A physician examining a urine specimen in which a faint figure of a baby is visible, a female patient is crying and being shouted at by her angry mother, indicating that she is pregnant. Watercolour by I.T., 1826.

A baby has been left outside the town-house of an old bachelor, and a young woman watches from the corner of the street. Engraving, 1794.

Studies in the social services / by Sheila Ferguson and Hilde Fitzgerald.

Unmarried mothers being brought before a court hearing and judged severely. Woodcut.

The single woman's guide to pregnancy and parenthood / Patricia Ashdown-Sharp ; drawings by Margaret Belsky.

Six vignettes on a design for a fan illustrating how to lead a moral and happy life. Stipple engraving, 1797.

Single and pregnant / Sally Macintyre.

Is this pregnancy? : what to do next, 3 stages of pregnancy, what to eat, what to wear, how a baby is born / [by Jennifer Gibb] ; [drawings by Judith Coney].

Single mothers - the first year : a Scottish study of mothers bringing up their children on their own / by Angela Hopkinson ; with a foreword by John C. Spencer.

The home that Jill built : a follow-up study of single mothers who set out to bring up their chilren on their own / Judith Lamotte in collaboration with Julie-Ann Macqueen.

Social insecurity : single mothers on benefit / Jane Streather and Stuart Weir.

Stay in the know

Wellcome collectionWellcome Collection

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Opening times:

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