After John Thomas Smith "Sand O!" St. Giles Church

Updated August 7, 2026

Lot number203
Estimate250.00 CAD
AuctionArt Auction Tuesday August 11th
DateAugust 11, 2026 at 6:59 PM EDT
Auction houseErin Auctions
LocationErin, ON

Hand-coloured engraving, published August 7, 1804 Image Size: 4 × 5 in. Frame Size: 10.5 × 9 in. Title: Sand O! Location Depicted: St. Giles Church (St. Giles-in-the-Fields), London Published: August 7, 1804 by Richard Phillips, 71 St. Paul's Church Yard, London. Artist: Craig, del. (after the original work) An early nineteenth-century hand-coloured engraving from the celebrated Cries of London tradition, depicting a youthful street vendor selling sand outside St. Giles-in-the-Fields Church, one of London's best-known landmarks. The print captures the daily life of Georgian London through the colorful occupations of its street traders, whose distinctive cries became synonymous with the city's bustling markets and neighborhoods. The title, "Sand O!", refers to the cry of merchants who sold clean sand for domestic use. During the Georgian period, households scattered sand across freshly scrubbed wooden floors to absorb moisture, protect the boards, and maintain cleanliness before the widespread use of carpets. The Cries of London were among the most popular engraved print series of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Publishers such as Richard Phillips produced finely engraved and hand-coloured depictions of London's street vendors, tradespeople, and itinerant merchants, documenting occupations that largely disappeared with the Industrial Revolution. St. Giles-in-the-Fields has stood on its present site since the early eighteenth century and was one of London's principal parish churches, making it a familiar backdrop for many contemporary artists and publishers.

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After John Thomas Smith "Sand O!" St. Giles Church

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