The London Cries

Incompete booklet entitled 'The London Cries: the figures in the costume of the last century; with a moral lesson derived from each'. There were originally about 27 pages but some are now missing from this copy. Each page is illustrated with a handcoloured engraving of a figure representing various street traders, including a flower seller and a muffin man. One page shows a Jewish seller of old clothes, with the moral verse 'Tis only narrow minds who choose To laugh to scorn industrious Jews'. This reflected contemporary generalisations about Jewish people that ranged from anti-Semitism to the belief that Jewish people were hard working.