Knives, Scissars, and Razars to Graind

One of a series of engravings derived from a set of paintings by Francis Wheatley entitled The ‘Cries of London’, ‘’ Knives, Scissors and Razors to Grind"features a knife grinder in the process of sharpening a pair of scissors for an attracive lady. Wheatley’s paintings of the ‘Cries’ were exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1792 and 1795 and were extremely popular. As the paintings attracted a large amount of attention Colnaghi agreed to publish a set of engravings, of which this is one.
They portrayed a range of idealised street vendors selling a range of goods including primroses, milk, oranges, matches, mackrel, cherries and peas and highlight the fact that these street sellers advertised their goods with a musical shout or a melodic rhyme. They present a sanitised view of the London streets and through their frequent reproduction are in part responsible for the persistence of this romanticised view life on the London streets.