Barto Valle's Italian Warehouse, Haymarket

Barto Valle's Italian warehouse was established in Haymarket in 1761 and remained in business until 1911. Italian warehouses originally sold imported goods from Italy and Valle's is thought to have sold herbal concoctions designed to cure various illnesses and ailments. This may explain why the customers depicted in this drawing are holding and sniffing unidentified bottles. A couple can be seen departing from the warehouse with a glass bottle in hand.There was always a considerbale foreign colony in this district and during the 18th century services in Italian were held regularly at the chapel in Oxenden Street close by.

Thomas Rowlandson's drawing gently pokes fun at the custom of selling exotic goods. He was the foremost caricaturist of his day and produced numerous views of London where he was born.