Four Times of the Day Four Times of the Day Four Times of the Day is a series of four oil paintings by English artist William Hogarth. Completed in 1736, they were reproduced as a series of four engravings published in 1738. They are humorous depictions of life in the streets of London, the vagaries of fashion, and the interactions between the rich and poor. Unlike many of Hogarth's other series, such as "A Harlot's Progress", "A Rake's Progress", "Industry and Idleness", and "The Four Stages of Cruelty", it does not depict the story of an individual, but instead focuses on the society of the
English coffeehouses in the 17th and 18th centuries English coffeehouses in the 17th and 18th centuries English coffeehouses in the 17th and 18th centuries were public social places where men would meet for conversation and commerce. For the price of a penny, customers purchased a cup of coffee and admission. Travellers introduced coffee as a beverage to England during the mid-17th century; previously it had been consumed mainly for its supposed medicinal properties. Coffeehouses also served tea and hot chocolate as well as a light meal. The historian Brian Cowan describes English coffeehouses as "places where people gathered to drink coffee, learn the news of the day, and