The Shoeblack, No. 4 from Familiar Figures of London Series

Dublin Core

Title

The Shoeblack, No. 4 from Familiar Figures of London Series

Subject

Shoeblack
Male clothing in Victorian Period
Victorian Period city life,
Thames River
Street-Seller,
Child Labor in the Victorian Period
Steamboat,
Lithograph postcard

Description

1 postcard recto and verso.
Shoe-Black shining a Gentleman's shoe near the Thames River, London, England

Creator

Sauber, Robert (1868-1936)

Source

Originally created in 1898 within the “Familiar Figures of London” series of 12 lithographs prints by Robert Sauber.

Publisher

The Pictorial Stationery Co., Ltd.

Date

Published circa 1906-1909.

Format

JPEG

Language

en

Type

Still image, picture postcard with divided back, 3.5 x 5.5 in

Identifier

ff4_shoeblack_recto.jpg
ff4_shoeblack_verso.jpg

Abstract

From the Peacock "pictorette" Post Card Series, Figure 4 features a Shoe-black blackening a gentlemen's shoes near the Thames River. Shoe blacks were children who
cleaned boots and shoes for a living.

This shoe shiner was most likely from the London Shoe-Black Brigade, which was formed in the 1850's to offer a better wage for children that were shoe-shiners. In the evenings they could attend Ragged Schools which were schools that offered free education of destitute children in 19th-century Britain. Those employed by London Shoe-Black Brigade wore colored jackets based on the location they would occupy.

References

For more examples of this series see: http://www.mystudios.com/artgallery/R/Robert-Sauber/The-Newsboy,-No.10-from-Familiar-Figures-of-London,-c.1901.html

and: http://www.lookandlearn.com/history-images/XD141009/The-Soldier?img=1&search=Robert+Sauber+%28after%29&bool=phrase

For information on shoeblacks see: http://www.victorianlondon.org/publications4/peopled-01.htm

and: http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/files/3213/7036/0863/WhatwaslifeforchildreninVictorianLondon.pdf

Provenance

Original Collection passed from Gertrude Kinnear to her sister Luree Jobe to her daughter Eleanor Jobe, who left it to her niece Elizabeth A. Mealy who left it to her granddaughter Caitlin Mealy.

Rights Holder

For rights and permissions, please contact Caitlin Mealy, catydids515@gmail.com.

Publisher Location Item Type Metadata

Location

Printed in Bavaria.

Based in London

Producer

The Pictorial Stationery Co., Ltd.

Files

ff4_shoeblack_recto.jpg
ff4_shoeblack_verso.jpg

Citation

Sauber, Robert (1868-1936), “The Shoeblack, No. 4 from Familiar Figures of London Series,” Omeka 389, accessed October 3, 2024, https://omeka.lib.jmu.edu/389/items/show/539.