The Pic-Nic Society was a London club devoted to theatrical entertainment, lavish dinners, and gambling. The Pic-Nics notoriety invited scandal and satire. Burney’s The Pic-Nic Orchestra is a knock-off of James Gillray’s The Pic-Nic Orchestra. Caricatures like Burney’s and Gillray’s helped make the word picnic then by those familiar with the Parisian dining custom widely known in London.
James Gillray. The Pic Nic Orchestra (1802)
Gillray often satirized Lady Albina Buckinghamshire (at the piano), partly because of her size and partly of her gambling addiction. Also taking part in the performance is Colonel Henry Francis Greville, the Pic-Nics manager (playing fiddle). Lord Mount Edgcumbe (playing cello), Lord George James Cholmondeley( on flute, and Lady Salisbury (playing French horn) with one hand.
See Edward Francis Burney. The Pic-Nic Orchestra, after James Gillray, ca.1802.