H. Bibby

This British printmaker spent the 1840s sketching shopfronts and alley cats in Manchester, then turned the drawings into crisp wood-engravings you could buy for a shilling at the local newsstand. The Beard Print Collection is a whole book of these street scenes, each block gouged with such care that the cobbles almost feel gritty underfoot. Flip to plate 23, “Fishmonger’s Lane at Five,” and you’ll see why collectors still hunt down these 170-year-old prints—warm light, busy hands, and a cat that looks like it’s just stolen a kipper.