Chinese Merchant with Sail Cart from Wahlen's 1844 Lithographs

About this sheet

This hand-colored lithograph titled *Marchand Chinois – Voiture à voile* (Chinese Merchant – Sail Cart) is from the Asia volume of Auguste Wahlen’s *"Moeurs, Usages et Costumes de tous les Peuples de Monde"* (Customs, Manners and Dress of All the Peoples of the World), published in 1844.

The print shows a Chinese merchant pulling a cart equipped with a sail to aid movement. The lithograph was produced using hand-colored techniques on vellum paper, with the use of Arabic gum enhancing the vibrancy of the colors.

Notable Features:
- Sail Cart: The cart is loaded with goods for trade and features a sail, a practical innovation to harness wind power to make the merchant's journey easier. This illustrates the resourcefulness of merchants in 19th-century China.
- Merchant: The man pulling the cart is simply dressed, indicative of his profession. His posture and physical effort reflect the labor involved in long-distance trading and transportation during that era.

Attractiveness:
The lithograph is visually captivating due to its detailed depiction of the merchant's cart, including various trade goods such as baskets, jars, and tools. The sail cart adds an element of uniqueness, drawing attention to the ingenuity of traditional Chinese merchants. The use of color and attention to everyday trade activities offers an appealing mix of art and ethnographic documentation.

Keywords for Searching:
When looking for prints like this, search terms could include "Chinese merchant lithograph," "Wahlen 1844 sail cart print," "hand-colored lithographs," "traditional Chinese trade," and "19th-century Chinese transport." These terms help locate historical prints that explore daily life and cultural practices in 19th-century China.