“A decrepit old man stands at the door of a house of ill fame at the corner of Portland Street; Mrs Burke is on the door-plate. One hand is on the knocker; he turns to scowl at a woman (right) who holds out a bunch of water-cress from a large shallow basket slung from the hip. A child clings to her shoulders; a little girl (left) with a small basket also offers him a bunch. Two young courtesans lean from a first-floor window. In the background (right), behind a spiked gate, are trees and a large house (or houses).”–British Museum online catalogue.

• Printmaker: Merke, Henri, printmaker.
  
• Title: Water cresses, come buy my water cresses [graphic] / Rowlandson delin. ; Merke sculp.
  
• Publication: London : Pub. Mar. 1, 1799, at R. Ackermann’s, 101 Strand, [1 March 1799]

Catalog Record & Digital Collection

799.03.01.06+

Acquired March 2016