John Thomson
Cheap Fish of St. Giles's

ArtistScottish, 1837–1921
CultureBritish
Titles
  • Cheap Fish of St. Giles's
  • from the book Street Life in London
Date1876
PlaceLondon, England
MediumWoodburytype
DimensionsImage: 4 7/16 × 3 9/16 in. (11.2 × 9 cm)
Mount: 10 11/16 × 8 3/16 in. (27.1 × 20.8 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Brown Foundation Accessions Endowment Fund, The Manfred Heiting Collection
Object number2004.700
Not on view

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
Description


A collaboration between photographer John Thomson and journalist Adolphe Smith, “Street Life in London” was pioneering in its sympathetic presentation of the city’s working classes, detailing the social, economic, and logistical challenges faced by bootblacks, beggars, fruit sellers, street musicians, photographers, and locksmiths, along with related history. Of the fishmonger with a barrel of 500 herrings to sell on the day he was photographed, Smith wrote, “Notwithstanding . . . the obnoxious smell and dirt created by a street fish-stall, this method of selling fish, if it ensures cheapness, and brings the fish to the doors of the poor, is undoubtedly useful.”



ProvenanceSwann, New York, 1989; Ezra Mack, New York.

Bought by Manfred Heiting from Ezra Mack Photography.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Printed in red below image, recto: CHEAP FISH OF ST. GILES'S.
There is no evident signature.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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