'Mars in disguise or the terrors of the Bear-skin'

Etching by 'W G' and engraved by 'Z A', published by T Bowen, 9 November 1772.

In 1768, the soldiers of grenadier companies were ordered to replace their embroidered cloth caps (which grenadiers had worn since the late seventeenth century) with caps made of black bearskin. The embroidered caps were very expensive and time-consuming to make, and this was probably the reason for their disappearance. But the authorities were also following fashion - a number of regiments had already been wearing the new cap for some years.

Changes in military fashion were often a target for satirists, and here the artist has fun with the idea of the 'terrifying' appearance of the grenadiers in their new headgear. In reality, the new cap was little more than 12 inches high.