"Somerset House & Umbrellas to Mend! — any old ones to sell!" by John Leighton

Victorian Web Home —> Work —> Visual Arts —> Illustration —> John Leighton —> Next]

Somerset House & Umbrellas to Mend!

John Leighton

1847

The Cries of London & Public Edifices, Plate 10

See below for Leighton's text.

[Click on image to enlarge it and mouse over text to find links.]

Image capture and formatting by George P. Landow.

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the Internet Archive and the University of Toronto Library and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Umbrellas to Mend! — Any old ones to sell!

During the day the Umbrella-mender goes his rounds, repeating these words, " Umbrellas to mend! Sixpence apiece for your old broken umbrellas!" and, having collected enough, he returns home to patch and mend, after which he or some of his family hawks them about for sale. Here he appears in his glory, under the auspices of St. Swithen, the patron saint of umbrella and patten-maker. It is the Strand, near

Somerset House

On this site formerly stood Somerset Palace, built by Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, about 1549. The present building was begun in 1774, after a design by Sir W. Chambers. The Strand front is one hundred and thirty feet long, has a rustic basement supporting Corinthian columns, and is crowned in the centre with an attic, surmounted by a group consisting of the arms of Britain supported by the genius of England and Fame. Nine large arches compose the basement, three of which open into the court. The key-stones are nine masks, representing the ocean and the eight chief rivers of England. In the quadrangle, directly fronting the entrance, is a bronze figure of the Thames, by Bacon; also a statue of George III. It has a Thames front, with a spacious terrace and water-gate.

Related materials

Bibliography

Limner, Luke [John Leighton]. The Cries of London & Public Edifices from Sketches on the Spot. London: Grant & Griffith successors to Newberry and Harris. Corner of St Paul's Church Yard, [1847]. Internet Archive version of a copy in the University of Toronto Library. Web. 17 September 2013.

Last modified 18 September 2013