The Cries of London
by
Paul Sandby
(This Page is being Worked on as we speak…Please be patient!)
According to Wikipedia, Paul Sandby ‘issued 12 etchings’ entitled The Cries of London in 1760. We are still hunting to find out; where it was published and by who and what the complete set was as there appears to be quite a few sketches with this title and many of different dates. We hope to give you the complete, accurate information so until we’ve found the truth we are going to leave it open.
We will list up here what images we have for his work entitled ‘Cries of London’ and hope to be able to put them in some kind of order when we find out more info.
Black Cherry Seller – c.1759.
Black Hearted Cherry Seller
Details:
– Brown-ish Robe a l’Anglais with possible cuff detail. Gown pinned back.
– Striped pett.
– Light coloured pocket and blue apron, looks to be just tied around waist.
– Some kind of cap with possible lappets or is an undercap as this could just be a cloth and a ribbon tied round.
– Striped neck cloth.
– Looks to be wearing Stays
– Plain shoes.
The Mackerel Seller – published 1760.
Mackerel Seller – c.1759
The British Museum, who holds a rare copy of this painting state that this is ‘Etching no.7’, which is a good beginning – don’t ask us why we’ve then gone and put it at no.2 – such questions are only likely to be answered with a ‘because’.
We also thought it would be interesting to put here what the British Museum writes about this sketch:
‘The seller of mackerel was the lowest of the street trading hierarchy: a person with no change of clothing or facilities for bathing would have smelt permanently of fish. Here she is shown face-to-face with a respectable woman at her (or her master’s) front door, chained against just such an intrusion. The confrontation is echoed in the snarls of the dog and terrified cat.
In the background is the shop or tavern sign of ‘A man loaded with mischief’ showing a man carrying a drunken wife and a pet monkey on his shoulders. The mysterious shadow in the foreground suggests that two men are watching the scene.’
Our Details Include:
– Possibly the blue is an apron as her sleeves don’t match the colour and it’s unlikely to be a sleeveless gown. You can also see what looks like a corner on the right. Having it swiped and tucked to the side like this seems common in paintings – this is the kind of detail we’re hoping to log in our ‘Techniques of Wearing Working Women’s Clothing’ Study.
– White gown/shift/petticoat and shift – who knows!
– Light coloured pocket on display so possibly a petticoat and shift.
– The cord around her chest is a detail we’ve seen in other paintings. We think it’s from the cloak and was a way of wrapping it on but it may well be worth seeing if the others are wearing a full length apron in case it was to secure that.
– Full but not long looking brown cloak.
– Headwear is possibly a undercap and hat or a cap of some kind with a hood??? It could be a hat that’s been sort of pushed back and possibly the black string about her neck is what’s holding it on.
