MARK OF THOMAS PITTS, LONDON, 1771

‘The Joys of a Tally’ engraved on the present lot is an early use of the phrase ‘Tally-ho’ during fox-hunting in England. The exclamation from a huntsman when he sees the fox, is probably an alteration from the French taïaut, used in deer-hunting ("tally-ho, int. and n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, September 2015). In 1773, R. Graves in The spiritual Quixote: or, The summer's ramble of Mr. Geoffry Wildgoose. ii. vi. 68  writes, ‘Jerry..with the utmost vociferation, in the fox-hunters' language, cries out, ‘Tallio! Tallio! Tallio!’ (op. cit.). The exclamation becomes increasingly popular in the early 19th century.