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ADVERTISEMENT.
ADVERTISEMENT.
The present work was some years since prepared for the press by its late ingenious author, who engraved all the plates for it himself, thirteen of which are copied from early prints, and the rest sketched from the life. It will easily be perceived how much superior the latter are to the former. The descriptions of the plates were also prepared by Mr. Smith, and had the benefit of revision by the late Francis Douce, Esq. F.S.A. These spirited etchings having become the property of the present Edi
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BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
John Thomas Smith was the son of Nathaniel Smith, sculptor, and afterwards a well-known printseller, living at Rembrandt’s Head, 18 Great May’s-buildings, St. Martin’s-lane; and we have his own authority, written in the album of Mr. Upcott of Upper Street, Islington, for stating, he was literally “born in a hackney coach, June 23, 1766, on its way from his uncle’s old Ned Tarr, a wealthy glass-grinder, of Great Earl Street, Seven Dials, to his father’s house in Great Portland-street, Oxford Stre
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INTRODUCTION.
INTRODUCTION.
T There are few subjects, perhaps, so eagerly attended to by the young as those related by their venerable parents when assembled round the fire-side, but more particularly descriptions of the customs and habits of ancient times. Now as the Cries of London are sometimes the topic of conversation, the author of the present work is not without the hope of finding, amongst the more aged as well as juvenile readers, many to whom it may prove acceptable, inasmuch as it not only exhibits several Itine
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WATCHMAN, BELLMAN, and BILLMAN.
WATCHMAN, BELLMAN, and BILLMAN.
Plates I. II. III. It has been observed in the Introduction, that of all the callings, that of the Watchman is perhaps of the highest antiquity; and as few writers can treat on any subject without a quotation from honest John Stowe, the following extract is inserted from that valuable and venerable author: “Then had yee, besides the standing watches, all in bright harnesse, in every ward and streete of this citie and suburbs, a marching watch that passed thro’ the principal streets thereof, to w
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WATER-CARRIER.
WATER-CARRIER.
Plate IV. The Conduits of London and its environs, which were established at an early period, supplied the metropolis with water until Sir Hugh Middleton brought the New River from Amwell to London, and then the Conduits gradually fell into disuse, as the New River water was by degrees laid on in pipes to the principal buildings in the City, and, in the course of time, let into private houses. When the above Conduits supplied the inhabitants, they either carried their vessels, or sent their serv
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CORPS-BEARER.
CORPS-BEARER.
Plate V. Of all the calamities with which a great city is infested, there can be none so truly awful as that of a plague, when the street-doors of the houses that were visited with the dreadful pest were padlocked up, and only accessible to the surgeons and medical men, whose melancholy duty frequently exposed them even to death itself; and when the fronts of the houses were pasted over with large bills exhibiting red crosses, to denote that in such houses the pestilence was raging, and requesti
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HACKNEY COACHMAN.
HACKNEY COACHMAN.
Plate VI. From the writer’s extensive knowledge of prints, and his intimate acquaintance with the various collections in England, he has every reason to conclude that the original print of a Hackney Coachman, from which this Plate has been copied, is perhaps the only representation of the earliest character of that calling. The print from which it was taken is one of a Set published by Overton, at the sign of the White Horse without Newgate; and its similarity to the figures given by Francis Bar
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JAILOR.
JAILOR.
Plate VII. Those persons who remember old Newgate, the Gate House at Westminster, and other places of confinement, will recollect how small and inconvenient those buildings were, and must acknowledge the very great improvements as to the extensive accommodation of all our Prisons, not only in London, but in almost every county in England; and for these very great improvements no one could have stood more forward than the benevolent Howard. It is to him the public owe extensiveness of building, s
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A PRISON BASKET-MAN.
A PRISON BASKET-MAN.
Plate VIII. This Plate exhibits one of those men who were sent out to beg broken meat for the poor prisoners. It was copied from one of the sets published by Overton in the reign of King Charles the Second. This custom, which perhaps was as ancient as our Religious Houses, has been long done away by an allowance of meat and bread having been made to those prisoners who are destitute of support. It was the business of such men to claim the attention of the public by their cry of “Some broken brea
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RAT-CATCHER.
RAT-CATCHER.
Plate IX. There are two kinds of rats known in this country, the black, which was formerly very common, but is now rarely seen, being superseded by the large brown kind, commonly called the Norway rat. The depredations committed by this little animal, which is about nine inches long, can be well attested by the millers and feeders of poultry, as in addition to its mischief it frequently carries off large quantities to its hiding place. In 1813 the following computation was made: “The annual valu
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MARKING STONES.
MARKING STONES.
Plate X. The rare wood-cut, from which the present etching was made, is one of the curious set of twelve figures engraved in wood of the time of James the First. Under the figure are the following lines: “Buy Marking Stones, Marking Stones buy, Much profit in their use doth lie: I’ve marking stones of colour red, Passing good,—or else black lead.” The cry of Marking Stones is also noticed in the play of “Tarquin and Lucrece.” These Marking Stones, as the verses above state, are either of a red c
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BUY A BRUSH, OR A TABLE BOOK.
BUY A BRUSH, OR A TABLE BOOK.
Plate XI. The Engraving from which the accompanying Plate was copied was one of a set published by Overton, but without date. Judging from the dress, it must have been made either in the reign of King James the First or in that of the succeeding monarch. The inscription over the figure is, “Buy a Brush or a Table Book.” The floors were not wetted, but rubbed dry, even until they bore a very high polish, particularly when it was the fashion to inlay staircases and floors of rooms with yellow, bla
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FIRE-SCREENS.
FIRE-SCREENS.
Plate XII. The next plate is a copy from the same set of prints from which the preceding one was taken, and has the following inscription engraved above it: “I have screenes if you desier, To keepe y r butey from y e fire.” It appears from the extreme neatness of this man, and the goods which he exhibits for sale, that they were of a very superior quality, probably of foreign manufacture, and possibly from Leghorn, from whence hats similar to those on his head were first brought into England. Th
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SAUSAGES.
SAUSAGES.
Plate XIII. The female vendor of Sausages exhibited in the following Plate, is of the time of Charles II. and has here been preferred to a similar character belonging to the preceding reign, her dress and general appearance being far more picturesque. Under the original print are the following lines: “Who buys my Sausages! Sausages fine! I ha’ fine Sausages of the best, As good they are as e’er was eat, If they be finely drest. Come, Mistris, buy this daintie pound, About a Capon rost them round
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NEW ELEGY.
NEW ELEGY.
Plate XIV. This figure was drawn and etched by the writer from an itinerant vendor of Elegies, Christmas Carols, and Love Songs. His father and grandfather had followed the same calling. When this man was asked what particular event he recollected, his information was principally confined to the Elegies he had sold. He seemed anxious, however, to inform the public that in the year 1753 the quartern loaf was sold at fourpence halfpenny, mutton was two-pence halfpenny a pound, that porter was then
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ALL IN FULL BLOOM.
ALL IN FULL BLOOM.
Plate XV. The repeated victories gained by England over her enemies, and her unbounded liberality to them when in distress, not only by her pecuniary contributions, but by allowing this country to be their general seat of refuge during their own commotions, encouraged the ignorant among them still to continue in their belief that the streets of our great city were paved with gold. The consequence has been, that the number of idle foreigners who have been tempted to quit their homes have increase
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OLD CHAIRS TO MEND.
OLD CHAIRS TO MEND.
Plate XVI. The Plate exhibits the figure of Israel Potter, one of the oldest menders of chairs now living, who resides in Compton’s Buildings, Burton Crescent, and sallies forth by eight o’clock in the morning, not with a view of getting chairs to mend; for, from the matted mass of dirty rushes which have sometimes been thrown across his shoulders for months together, without ever being once opened, it must be concluded that his cry of “Old chairs to mend” avails him but little; the fact is, tha
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THE BASKET-MAKER.
THE BASKET-MAKER.
Plate XVII. The man whose figure affords the subject of the next Plate is a journeyman Prickle-maker, and works in a cellar on the western side of the Haymarket. A prickle is a basket used by the wine-merchants for their empty bottles; it is made of osiers unpeeled and in their natural state, and the basket is made loose with open work, so that when it is filled with bottles it may ride easy in the wine-merchant’s caravan, and without the least risk of breaking them. The maker of prickles begins
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THE POTTER.
THE POTTER.
Plate XVIII. At about a mile from the back of Jack Straw’s Castle, Hampstead Heath, through one of the prettiest lanes near London, the traveller will find that beautifully rural spot called “Child’s Hill.” This was the favourite walk of Gainsborough and Loutherburgh, both of whom occasionally had lodgings near the Heath for the purpose of study; and perhaps no place within one hundred miles of London affords better materials for the landscape painter’s purpose than Hampstead Heath and its vicin
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STAFFORDSHIRE WARE.
STAFFORDSHIRE WARE.
Plate XIX. Of all the tradesmen who supply the domestic table, there are none more frequently called upon than the earthen-ware man. In great families, where constant cooking is going on, the dust-bin seldom passes a day without receiving the accidents to which a scullery is liable, nor is there, upon an average, a private family in England that passes a week without some misfortune to their crockery. Many householders set down at least ten pounds a year for culinary restorations; so that the it
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HARD METAL SPOONS TO SELL OR CHANGE.
HARD METAL SPOONS TO SELL OR CHANGE.
Plate XX. William Conway, of Crab Tree Row, Bethnall Green, is the person from whom the following etching was made. He was born in 1752, in Worship Street, which spot was called Windmill Hill, and first started with or rather followed his father as an itinerant trader, forty-seven years ago. This man has walked on an average twenty-five miles a day six days in the week, never knew a day’s illness, nor has he once slept out of his own bed. His shoes are made from the upper leather of old boots, a
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DANCING DOLLS.
DANCING DOLLS.
Plate XXI. By all the aged persons with whom the author has conversed, it is agreed that from the time of Hogarth to the present day the street strollers with their Dancing Dolls on a board have not appeared. The above artist, whose eye glanced at every description of nature, and whose mind was perpetually alive to those scenes which would in any way illustrate his various subjects, has introduced, in his inimitable print of Southwark Fair, the figure of a little man, at that time extremely well
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SPRIG OF SHILLELAH AND SHAMROCK SO GREEN.
SPRIG OF SHILLELAH AND SHAMROCK SO GREEN.
Plate XXII. The annexed etching was taken from Thomas M’Conwick, an Irishman, who traverses the western streets of London, as a vendor of matches, and, like most of his good-tempered countrymen, has his joke or repartee at almost every question put to him, duly attempered with native wit and humour. M’Conwick sings many of the old Irish songs with excellent effect, but more particularly that of the “Sprig of Shillelah and Shamrock so green,” dances to the tunes, and seldom fails of affording amu
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GINGERBREAD NUTS, OR JACK’S LAST SHIFT.
GINGERBREAD NUTS, OR JACK’S LAST SHIFT.
Plate XXIII. The etching in front of the present Plate, was taken from Daniel Clarey, an industrious Irishman, well known to the London schoolboy as a gingerbread-nut lottery office keeper. Dan had fought for his country as a seaman, and though from some unlucky circumstance he is not entitled to the comforts of Greenwich Hospital, still he boasts of the honour of losing his leg in an engagement on the “Salt Seas.” Rendered almost destitute by the loss of his limb, he was nevertheless not wantin
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CHICKWEED AND GROUNDSEL.
CHICKWEED AND GROUNDSEL.
Plate XXIV. The subject of this Plate is George Smith, a Brush-maker out of employ, in consequence of frequent visitations of the rheumatism. This man, finding affliction increase upon him in so great a degree as to render him incapable of pursuing his usual occupation, determined on selling chickweed, an article easily procured without money, and for which there is a certainty of meeting at least one customer in almost every street, as there are scarcely three houses together without their sing
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BILBERRIES.
BILBERRIES.
Plate XXV. Bilberries are a modern article of sale, and were first brought to London about forty years ago by countrymen, who appeared in their smock-frocks, with every character of rusticity. In the course of a little time, bilberries were so eagerly bought that it induced many persons to become vendors, and they are now brought to the markets as a regular article of consumption for the season. These berries mostly grow in Hertfordshire, from whence indeed they are brought to town in very high
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SIMPLERS.
SIMPLERS.
Plate XXVI. Those persons who live in the country and rise with the sun can bear testimony to the activity of the Simpler, who commences his selections from the ditches and swampy grounds at that early period of the day, and, after he has filled a large pack for his back, trudges for fifteen miles to the London markets, where perhaps he is the first who offers goods for sale; he then returns back and sleeps in some barn until the next succeeding sun. Such an instance of rustic simplicity is Will
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WASHER-WOMEN, CHAR-WOMEN, AND STREET NURSES.
WASHER-WOMEN, CHAR-WOMEN, AND STREET NURSES.
Plate XXVII. Perhaps there is not a class of people who work harder than those washer-women who go out to assist servants in what is called a heavy wash; they may be seen in the winter time, shivering at the doors, at three and four o’clock in the morning, and are seldom dismissed before ten at night, this hard treatment being endured for two shillings and sixpence a day. They may be divided into two classes, the industrious, who labour cheerfully to support their little ones, and, too often, an
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SMITHFIELD SALOOP.
SMITHFIELD SALOOP.
Plate XXVIII. About a century ago, almost every corner of the more public streets was occupied at midnight, until six or seven in the morning, by the sellers of frumenty, barley broth, cow-heel soup, and baked ox-cheek; and in those days when several hundreds of chairmen were nightly waiting in the metropolis, and it was the fashion for the bloods of the day to beat the rounds, as they termed it, there was a much greater consumption of such refreshments. The scenes of vice at the above period we
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SMITHFIELD PUDDING.
SMITHFIELD PUDDING.
Plate XXIX. It would be almost criminal to proceed in my account of the present cry without passing a due encomium on the subject of it. The good qualities of an English pudding, more especially when it happens to be enriched with the due portion of enticing plums, are well known to most of us. It is a luxury to which our Gallic neighbours are entire strangers, and an article of cookery worth any dozen of their harlequin kick-shaws. The justly-celebrated comedian, Ned Shuter, was so passionately
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THE BLADDER MAN.
THE BLADDER MAN.
Plate XXX. Within the memory of the author’s oldest friends, London has been visited by men similar to Bernardo Millano, whose figure is pourtrayed in the following Plate. About sixty years ago there was a Turk, of a most pompous appearance, who entertained crowds in the street by playing on an instrument of five strings passed over a bladder, and drawn up to the ends of a long stick, something like that exhibited in the etching, and which instrument is said to have been the original hurdy-gurdy
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POSTSCRIPT. BY THE EDITOR.
POSTSCRIPT. BY THE EDITOR.
⁂ The interest of the Plates in Mr. Smith’s “Antient Topography of London,” is much increased by numerous spirited little sketches of remarkable characters well known in the streets of the Metropolis; several of whom would have formed valuable additions, either to his work on the London Beggars, intituled, “Vagabondiana,” or the present volume: a few of these shall be here noticed. 1. In the View of the Old Houses in London Wall, p. 63, the man with two baskets is John Bryson , well known in Lon
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