Delivering Coal

The subject of this drawing is a London coal cart and the contrasting attitudes of the two employees of Messrs Johnson and Horner (coal merchants at Adelphi Wharf) shown delivering the coal.

While one man forcibly coerces the horse to back up so that the cart is as near as possible to the coal hole, his partner drinks from a metal tankard and holds a redundant shovel by his side. In contrast to the other man, he seems to be taking a break from the labour. His comparative idleness is mirrored by the two horses on the left who, in direct contrast to the working horse, are both shown in repose. The legs of several other men can be seen faintly behind the cart.

At a young age, John Augustus Atkinson accompanied his uncle to Russia where he remained for several years, painting Russian historical subjects. Upon his return to England in 1801, he produced 'Four Panoramic Views of St. Petersburg' and 'Manners, Costumes and Amusements of the Russians'. As well as a painter, Atkinson was also an etcher and an aquatint engraver.