E. Matthews & Sons

E. Matthews & Sons ran a print shop in Victorian London where opera singers and actors lined up to sit for their portraits. The family cranked out crisp black-and-white lithographs that looked like they’d been sketched just yesterday, even though they were sold for a shilling on street corners. Flip through any box of old prints and you’ll spot their sharp, spare lines—Julian Gayarre’s curls or Frau Etelka Gerster’s determined chin—and suddenly the 19th century feels close enough to touch.