Mackerel Seller at Billingsgate, Cries of London, 1804
€ 345
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1804
Mapmaker / artist
After William Marshall Craig
Publisher
Richard Phillips, London
Technique
Copper Engraving
Coloring
Hand colored
Sheet size
25.5 × 19.5 cm (10.0 × 7.7 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-12935-41
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Light wear to the bottom right corner. Age toning, darker at the edges; handling soiling along the edges and scattered foxing in the margins. Faint show-through of text from the reverse. Printed image clean.
About this sheet
This is an original hand colored copper engraving, one of the Cries of London plates, lettered "MACKEREL." beneath the image. It shows a fishwoman at Billingsgate holding out a wide oval basket of mackerel. She wears a brown hood, a red shawl with a red neckerchief, a yellow patterned kerchief tucked into a green jacket, a pink apron and a blue skirt. Barrels stand on the quay at the right beneath a timber post and beam, two men stand beyond them with their backs turned, ships' masts and rigging rise at the left, and the river with its shipping fills the background.
The London setting is engraved in script above the image as "Billinsgate" and the cry in open capitals below it as "MACKEREL.". The script title spells the place "Billinsgate", without the g before the s. At the lower left is the artist's credit "Craig. del." (del., for delineavit, "drew it"), naming William Marshall Craig as the designer. Along the foot runs the imprint "Published Augst 25 1804 by Richard Phillips 71 St Pauls Church Yard", dating the plate to August 25, 1804.
The plate comes from Modern London; Being the History and Present State of the British Metropolis, printed for Richard Phillips of St. Paul's Church Yard by C. Mercier and Co. in 1804. Alongside its topographical views of the capital the book included a series of hand colored plates of London street traders, each figure shown in working dress against a named street, square or building, so that the set records both the trades and the appearance of the city at the time. The designs in the series are credited to the painter William Marshall Craig where the plates carry his name, as this one does.
The hand coloring and the named London setting make it a good choice for a hallway, kitchen or study, alone or hung with other plates from the series.
This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
