More Of Charles Hindley’s Cries Of London
In his History of the Cries of London, Ancient & Modern of 1884, Charles Hindley reused many woodblocks from earlier publications and this series below dates from perhaps a century earlier.
Of all the sets I have published in these pages, these prints best illustrate the necessity of the Cries, since in most cases it would not be possible for customers to tell at a distance what sellers had in their baskets so, as well as announcing their presence, the Cries declared the wares on offer. There is a particular animated quality to this set, tracing the footsteps of the hawkers as they trudge the narrow streets, negotiating the puddles and the filth – and it makes you realise how much walking was involved, lugging produce round the city on foot.
Newcastle Salmon! Dainty fine Salmon! Dainty fine Salmon! Newcastle Salmon!
Yorkshire Cakes, who’ll buy Yorkshire Cakes? All piping hot – smoking hot! hot! hot!
Buy my Flowers, sweet Flowers, new-cut Flowers! New Flowers, sweet Flowers, fresh Flowers, O!
Buy green and large Cucumbers, Cucumbers, green and large, Cucumbers, twelve a penny!
Buy Rosemary! Buy Sweetbriar! Rosemary & Sweetbriar, O!
Come and buy my Walking Sticks or Canes! I’ve got them for young and old.
Buy my Cranberries! Fine Cranberries! Buy my Cranberries! Fine Cranberries!
Buy my fine Gooseberries! Fine Gooseberries! Threepence a quart! Ripe Gooseberries!
Pears for pies! Come feast your eyes! Ripe Pears, of every size, who’ll buy?
One a penny, two a penny, Hot Cross Buns! One a penny, two a penny, Hot Cross Buns!
Worcestershire Salt!
Buy Great Eels!
Buy Great Plaice!
Buy Great Smelts!
Buy Great Whiting!
Hats or Caps! Buy, Sell or Exchange!
Bread & Meat! Bread & Meat!
Hot fine Oatcakes! Hot fine Oatcakes!
Fine Oranges & Lemons! Oranges & Lemons!
I sweep your Chimney clean, O! Sweep your Chiney clean, O!
Buy my Diddle Dumplings, hot! hot! Diddle, diddle, diddle, Dumplings hot!
I have Hot Codlings, Hot Codlings!
You may also like to take a look at these other sets of the Cries of London I have collected
More John Player’s Cries of London
More Samuel Pepys’ Cries of London
Geoffrey Fletcher’s Pavement Pounders
William Craig Marshall’s Itinerant Traders
H.W.Petherick’s London Characters
John Thomson’s Street Life in London
Aunt Busy Bee’s New London Cries
Marcellus Laroon’s Cries of London
William Nicholson’s London Types
Francis Wheatley’s Cries of London
John Thomas Smith’s Vagabondiana of 1817
John Thomas Smith’s Vagabondiana II
John Thomas Smith’s Vagabondiana III
Thomas Rowlandson’s Lower Orders
What kind of tastes and smells must have been there! Would like to give the hot fine Oatcakes a try…
Love & Peace
ACHIM
Lovely.
What kind of offer is one a penny two a penny? Never understood it.
I enjoy seeing these and I agree with you GA they look like 18th century woodcuts to me. The cucumbers look like the real thing, nothing like the long thin dark green ones that we see everywhere now, but real cucumbers are getting harder to find worse luck although I think that they are far superior.