“A trade token issued by the famed bookseller James Lackington (1746-1815), the same year he opened the Temple of the Muses, ‘one of the wonders of London’ (Oxford DNB); with reputedly a million books on display, it was at the time the biggest bookshop in the world. Tokens such as these were issued in many places in England in the late eighteenth century, when the government failed to mint enough copper coinage for the conduct of business. According to Oxford DNB, Lackington issued thousands of such tokens, which were only valid at his shop. All were struck by Lutwyche of Birmingham.”–British Museum online catalogue.
- Creator: Lackington, Allen and Co.
- Title: Halfpenny of Lackington Allen & Co. [realia] : cheapest booksellers in the world.
- Publication: [London] : [Lackington, Allen and Co], 1794.
- Manufacture: [Birmingham, England] : [Lutwyche], [1794]
LWL Min. 147
Acquired October 2019
An invitation to accompany the Society of Painters at St Lukes Feast on Thursday 24 November, 1687 in Painter Stayner’s Hall; with a cartouche illustrated with an allegory of the arts with painting in the center, with winged Fame holding a laurel crown In the top corners are emblems of painting and architecture and on the bottom, drawing (disegno) and sculpture as a putto.