Details
Creator Summers, William, artist.
Contributor Hunt, Charles, engraver.
Isaacs, Harrison, publisher.
Title Life in Philadelphia. "Have you any flesh coloured silk stockings...?" [graphic] / Engd. by Chas. Hunt.
Publisher London: Pub. by Harrison Isaacs, Charles Street, Soho Sqre
Publisher ENG. London. 1831
Date [ca. 1831]
Physical Description 1 print: hand-colored aquatint; 38 x 28 cm (15 x 11 in.)
Description Racist caricature of an African American woman shopping for a pair of "flesh coloured silk stockings" in a hosiery store with a white male sales clerk speaking with a French dialect. Depicts, in the center left, the woman standing at the blue counter in front of the clerk who holds up a pair of black-colored stockings from out of a rectangular box. She is attired in a yellow floral patterned dress, as well as tall, wide-brimmed floral-patterned hat adorned with yellow flowers, greenery, and a veil and long floral-patterned ribbon, white gloves, earrings, and white button-up boots. She rests her pink, polka-dot-patterned purse on the counter and holds up a monocle from the end of her neck fob to inspect the stockings that the clerk declares are of "de first qualite!" Her brown parasol rests against the counter. Rows of red, blue, brown, black, and yellow stockings and fashion accessories hang on the wall behind the clerk. The clerk is attired in a green waistcoat with tails, a blue vest, white cravat, and white pants. In the left, an African American woman attired in a pink polka dot dress and tall, wide brimmed hat adorned with a veil and green ribbons is seen in the doorway of the shop in which curtains hang and are pushed to the side. A shelf lined with bolts of textiles hangs above the doorway. The wheel of a carriage is seen behind the woman. The figures are portrayed with oversized and exaggerated features. The central woman figure’s skin tone is depicted with black hand coloring and the woman figure in the doorway’s skin tone is depicted with brown hand coloring. The man is depicted with rosy cheeks and brown, curled hair.
Notes Title from item.
Date inferred from content and name of publisher.
After the work of Edward W. Clay.
Attributed to William Summers.
Plate 11 of the original series of Life in Philadelphia.
Contains five lines of dialogue in the vernacular and dialect above the image: Have you any flesh coloured silk stockings, young man? Oui Madame! here is von pair of de first qualité!
Charles Hunt was a respected London engraver who was most known for his aquatints of sporting subjects.
RVCDC
Description revised 2021.
Access points revised 2021.
Subject African Americans -- Caricatures and cartoons -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia.
African American women -- Caricatures and cartoons -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia.
African American women -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia.
African American women -- Clothing & dress -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia.
Clerks (Retail trade) -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia.
Conversation.
Hosiery.
Men -- Clothing & dress -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia.
Middle-class -- Clothing & dress -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia.
Racism in popular culture.
Shopping -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia.
Genre Caricatures -- 1830-1840.
Aquatints -- Hand-colored -- 1830-1840.
Printer Isaacs, Harrison, publisher.
Location Library Company of Philadelphia| Print Department| Life in Philadelphia (London) [P.9707.3]
Accession number P.9707.3