The Shop of Mr Venus

This watercolour depicts The shop of Mr Venus, Clerkenwell Close, an imaginary scene from 'Our Mutual Friend'. In Book 1 Chapter 7 Silas Wegg stumps 'towards the poorer shops of small retail traders in commodities to eat and drink and keep folk warm and of Italian frame-makers, and of barbers, and of brokers, and of dealers in dogs and singing birds. From these, in a narrow and a dirty street devoted to such callings, Mr Wegg selects one dark shop window.......goes in at the dark, greasy entry, pushes a little greasy, dark, reluctant side door, and follows the door into the little dark greasy shop.' The shop of Mr Venus is a 'Preserver of Animals and Birds, Articulator of human bones'.

Very little is known about James Lawson Stewart who exhibited watercolours in various London galleries between 1883-1889. He died in c. 1918 and towards the end of life was employed to copy prints of London; the accuracy of some of the locations should therefore be questioned.

The Museum was gifted a large selection of watercolours featuring locations which appeared in Dickens's works in 1934 and a set of cigarette cards was issued by R and J Hill Ltd in 1926 and 1934 entitled Historic Places from Dickens Classics which featured watercolours by Stewart.