Fishwife asking an Extra Stuiver, Dutch Costume Print, 1811

An original antique hand colored engraving from Evert Maaskamp's Dutch costume series, published in Amsterdam in 1811, lettered in Dutch "Hoor eens, baasje! leg 'er nog een stuiver op. 't Is myn hand-gift." and in French "Ecoutez, mon ami! encore un Sou. ce sont mes étrennes." A fishwife sits on a low wooden box beside her baskets and reaches up to touch the coat of a man standing with his back to the viewer. She wears a white lace cap with gold ear ornaments, a black choker, a cream shawl, a bodice embroidered with pink and green flowers, a brown skirt and a blue petticoat. One basket holds large flat fish; another, covered, carries a white bowl, a jug and a knife. He wears a long blue coat, gray stockings, black shoes and a black tricorn over a white curled wig.

The captions translate as "Listen, master! put one more stuiver on it. It is my first sale of the day" and "Listen, my friend! one sou more, it is my gift money". The Dutch hand-gift is the first takings of the day. At left is "J. Kuyper, direx." and at right "L. Portman, Sculp.", and the plate is numbered "No. 2" above. The imprint reads "Amsterdam, 1811. by E. Maaskamp, Kalverstaat en Dam No. 1." over "London, Published by Colnaghi & Co. Cockspur Street. No. 43."

The plate belongs to Evert Maaskamp's Afbeeldingen van de Kleedingen, Zeden en Gewoonten in Holland, published in Amsterdam with parallel Dutch and French captions and offered in London through Colnaghi and Co. The series records the dress, manners and customs of the northern Netherlands in numbered plates, each a small scene within a ruled border, and many of the captions are a line of dialogue spoken by one of the figures. J. Kuyper signs the plates as director, direx., and they were engraved by L. Portman and finished by hand in watercolor.

A single plate frames well on its own with the full caption showing, and a few plates from the series hung together make a coherent group of Dutch scenes.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.