Boy Selling Matches at the Mansion House, Cries of London, 1804

This is an original hand colored copper engraving, one of the Cries of London plates, lettered "MATCHES." beneath the image. It shows a boy selling matches before the Mansion House. He wears a black hat, a long red coat, blue breeches and gray stockings, and holds a bundle of matches in one hand with a basket of them on his arm. The columned front of the Mansion House rises behind him, with railings at its foot, and a dark masonry wall frames the scene at the right.

The London setting is engraved in script above the image as "Mansion House" and the cry in open capitals below it as "MATCHES.". No artist or engraver is named on this plate. Along the foot runs the imprint "Published. Augst 25. 1804. by Richard Phillips, 71. St. Paul's 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. Several plates in the series carry the credit of the painter William Marshall Craig; this one is unsigned.

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.