The faint signature ‘Jan Folkema fecit 1674’ can be read on the rear crossbar of the table. The drawing shows four etchers and draughtsmen in a domestic setting. They are probably amateurs, judging from the refined clothes they wear. Etching for pleasure was a frequent practice in seventeenth-century upper-class circles, stimulated by manuals such as Abraham Bosse’s 'Traicté des Manieres de Graver en Taille douce sur l’airtin' (or Manual of Etching) of 1645. Representations of amateur etchers are rare.