In Victorian times, London’s streets were alive with traders of all kinds and ages. Little boys swept the street crossings, polished gentlemen’s boots and sold newspapers; girls sold bunches of flowers; and men mended chairs, sold gingerbread, hoky poky (ice cream) or baked potatoes, and sharpened scissors and kitchen knives.
Some of these street traders became well known characters, so famous that magazine articles were written about them. You can find illustrations of three celebrated traders of 1880s London on the VPL site. The first is the Italian fortune-teller who usually frequented Regent Street. Because she hardly knew any English, she put a notice over the birdcage explaining how to find out your fortune. She claimed that her birds were mystical creatures from India, who for one penny would select from her box a slip of paper which would tell you the history of your past and future life. To look into the future by means of an Italian woman and Indian birds in England seems a somewhat bizarre proceeding!
An equally well-known figure was the man who had an extraordinary stall in Parliament Street which apparently sold almost everything. He had manned his stall since 1873. Previously he had been in the army (the 60th Rifles), and then in the navy. He did all sorts of things: he beat carpets, he cleaned windows, he sold roasted chestnuts, and he blacked boots, and he claimed that he was patronized by the Prince of Wales. Notice the wondrous array of polished coins on his boot-box.
Most famous of all was the picturesque Italian man who played the organ and sang selections from Il Trovatore with tremendous force, energy and skill. His career as a performer on London’s streets lasted for at least thirty years, and for a considerable time he was also an artist's model.
Click the images below to see enlargements.   
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