'Eight o'clock a.m. opening the shop': A street scene in the West End of London

Details

William McConnell (fl. 1850-1890)
'Eight o'clock a.m. opening the shop': A street scene in the West End of London
inscribed 'Williams' (on the shop front, upper left)
pencil heightened with white
4 1/8 x 5 7/8 in. (10.5 x 14.9 cm.)

Provenance

with Covent Garden Gallery, London.

Literature

G.A. Sala, Twice Round the Clock, London, 1859, p. 77, illustrated p. 76.

Special notice

This lot is offered without reserve. No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

A cartoonist and comic artist, McConnell had two official appointments as cartoonist to illustrated papers, Punch, 1852 and The Illustrated Times, 1855-56. His style is usually exaggerated and grotesque and he is said to have been a friend of G.A. Sala, the author of Twice Round the Clock, London, 1859. According to M.H. Spielmann (The History of Punch, London, 1895, pp. 460-1) McConnell 'revelled in beggars, swells and backgrounds' and died of consumption soon after 1852; however this must be incorrect as he was still contributing to periodicals in the 1860s.

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