Knives, Scissars, and Rotors to Grind

This engraving of everyday London life comes from a series of 14 paintings by the Royal Academy painter Francis Wheatley. This series of idealized knifegrinders and cherry, match, primrose, and strawberry sellers was also available in impressions with hand coloring. Wheatley, a portrait painter to the aristocracy, came upon hard times while preparing these canvases, but the dual-language print titles (English and French) attest to the wide-ranging appeal of the engravings.