… exemplified his hearty comic style and eye for graphic detail. His career coincided with a period of intensification in printing and bookselling in the British Isles after press licensing laws lapsed for a final time in 1695. He sought to capitalise on the industry’s expansion by writing for print and, with over 100 titles to his name – penned over four decades – he was among the most industrious authors of his … in convivial company – and he was known to enjoy a tipple himself – he also offers a glimpse of sociability centring on printed texts and the exercise of wit, fuelled by the consumption of alcohol in the period’s public houses. Taken …
… diffuse a like disposition overall who are in company. 5 5 . Francis Hutcheson, Reflections Upon Laughter (Glasgow: printed by R. Urie for D. Baxter, 1750), p. 32. Shared laughter would nurture social accord. Smiles expressed affability …