Band Box Seller

This image of a hat box seller belongs to Sandby’s London Cries, a series of figure studies that take as their subject the city’s street merchants. Cries refers to the calls the sellers made to attract customers’ attention. The series follows a long tradition of European imagery of itinerant performers and traders. While many of the figures in Sandby’s London Cries are markedly unpleasant, the Band Box Seller is a study in elegance. The figure is depicted from behind as he walks away from us, a variety of boxes dangling from a pole perched on his shoulder. Under its weight, his body curves sinuously, as if performing a dance (2022).