John Thomas Smith worked primarily as a printmaker and draughtsman, as well as teaching and serving as Curator of Prints at the British Museum. He is best known for three series of prints: ‘Antiquities of Westminster’, a large work comprising 246 engravings (plus a supplement); ‘Ancient Topography of London’, 32 prints reminiscent of Piranesi; and an illustrated book on the beggars of London, ‘Etchings of Remarkable Beggars, Itinerant Traders, and other Persons of Notoriety in London and its Environs’.

The present work is drawn from this last series. It depicts a well-known ‘character’ who captured the public imagination in 1815: a Newcastle tax collector named George Wilson who made a name for himself as a competitive walker of very long distances. In 1815 he set out from Blackheath to walk 1000 miles in 20 days, thus earning the nickname ‘the Pedestrian’. He and his exploits became the subject of prints by Smith, George Moutard Woodward and others. Wilson is depicted (presumably) setting out for his walk on Blackheath in the presence of a large crowd of onlookers. Most of the other prints in this series are of single figures and this plate is somewhat unusual for being so heavily populated; this allowed Smith to stress the contrast between the angular, eccentric but dignified figure of Wilson and the unruly crowd.

Provenance: Purchased by David H Solkin, FBA, Walter H Annenberg Professor of the History of Art, The Courtauld Institute of Art (purchased from Justin Skrebowzski c.2007)

Inscription: recto & lower centre (within image area of print) : George Wilson the Pedestrian // London Published as the Act directs December 31st 1815 by John Thomas Smith, N4 Chandos Street, Covent Garden

Inscription: recto & lower right : inlay : pencil :: 3 //

Inscription: verso & upper right : inlay : pencil :: £38 //