CIRCA 1820

William "Billy" Waters (?-1823), also known as "Black Billy", was a well-known charcacter in Regency London who earned his living fiddling on the streets of the West End, having lost his leg years earlier while serving in the Royal Navy. As a street character of the day, he featured in Pierce Egan's book Tom & Jerry: Life in London or The Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn, Esq. and his elegant friend Corinthian Tom in their rambles and sprees through Metropolis, produced as an operatic play in 1821. He can also be seen in Thomas Cruikshank's satirical engravings of daily London life.