Hawkers, Beggars and Quacks: Portraits from "The Cries of London"
Seventy-four striking portraits of men and women on the margins of London society in the seventeenth century—including street vendors and petty criminals.
 
“Buy my Dish of great Eeles, Any Old Iron take money for, Twelve Pence a Peck Oysters, Buy my fat Chickens, Fair Lemons & Oranges.”

At the end of the seventeenth century, the artist Marcellus Laroon became well known for a series of drawings that illustrated London’s marginal men and women: street vendors, hustlers, and petty criminals. This set of drawings came to be known as The Cries of London after the shouts and cries vendors used to hawk their wares.
 
Hawkers, Beggars and Quacks presents seventy-four of Laroon’s striking portraits. Following an illustrated introduction that contextualizes The Cries of London, each portrait is beautifully reproduced with a commentary on the individual street-seller and their trade. These commentaries provide a wealth of detail about each seller’s dress, the equipment they used to ply their trade, their own diets, and the diets of those they served.

Drawing on historic material found in the British Library’s Burney Collection of English newspapers, Hawkers, Beggars and Quacks provides a fascinating insight into the men and women who made their livelihood—legally and illegally—on the streets of England’s capital.
1139090192
Hawkers, Beggars and Quacks: Portraits from "The Cries of London"
Seventy-four striking portraits of men and women on the margins of London society in the seventeenth century—including street vendors and petty criminals.
 
“Buy my Dish of great Eeles, Any Old Iron take money for, Twelve Pence a Peck Oysters, Buy my fat Chickens, Fair Lemons & Oranges.”

At the end of the seventeenth century, the artist Marcellus Laroon became well known for a series of drawings that illustrated London’s marginal men and women: street vendors, hustlers, and petty criminals. This set of drawings came to be known as The Cries of London after the shouts and cries vendors used to hawk their wares.
 
Hawkers, Beggars and Quacks presents seventy-four of Laroon’s striking portraits. Following an illustrated introduction that contextualizes The Cries of London, each portrait is beautifully reproduced with a commentary on the individual street-seller and their trade. These commentaries provide a wealth of detail about each seller’s dress, the equipment they used to ply their trade, their own diets, and the diets of those they served.

Drawing on historic material found in the British Library’s Burney Collection of English newspapers, Hawkers, Beggars and Quacks provides a fascinating insight into the men and women who made their livelihood—legally and illegally—on the streets of England’s capital.
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Hawkers, Beggars and Quacks: Portraits from

Hawkers, Beggars and Quacks: Portraits from "The Cries of London"

by Sean Shesgreen
Hawkers, Beggars and Quacks: Portraits from

Hawkers, Beggars and Quacks: Portraits from "The Cries of London"

by Sean Shesgreen

Hardcover

$55.00 
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Overview

Seventy-four striking portraits of men and women on the margins of London society in the seventeenth century—including street vendors and petty criminals.
 
“Buy my Dish of great Eeles, Any Old Iron take money for, Twelve Pence a Peck Oysters, Buy my fat Chickens, Fair Lemons & Oranges.”

At the end of the seventeenth century, the artist Marcellus Laroon became well known for a series of drawings that illustrated London’s marginal men and women: street vendors, hustlers, and petty criminals. This set of drawings came to be known as The Cries of London after the shouts and cries vendors used to hawk their wares.
 
Hawkers, Beggars and Quacks presents seventy-four of Laroon’s striking portraits. Following an illustrated introduction that contextualizes The Cries of London, each portrait is beautifully reproduced with a commentary on the individual street-seller and their trade. These commentaries provide a wealth of detail about each seller’s dress, the equipment they used to ply their trade, their own diets, and the diets of those they served.

Drawing on historic material found in the British Library’s Burney Collection of English newspapers, Hawkers, Beggars and Quacks provides a fascinating insight into the men and women who made their livelihood—legally and illegally—on the streets of England’s capital.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781851245512
Publisher: Bodleian Library, University of Oxford
Publication date: 10/25/2021
Pages: 240
Product dimensions: 7.50(w) x 9.75(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Sean Shesgreen is emeritus professor of English and formerly a Presidential Professor at Northern Illinois University.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
The Cries
Further Reading
Notes
Acknowledgements
Picture Credits
Index
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