Artwork
The Stocking-Maker
The Stocking-Maker is an ink print by the Romanticist artist The London Printing and Publishing Company. It dates from 1814 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The work is an uncoloured engraving dated 1814, titled *The Stocking‑Maker*.
About this work
Overview
The work is an uncoloured engraving dated 1814, titled *The Stocking‑Maker*. It presents a quiet domestic interior in which a woman, seated on a low stool, is engaged in the craft of making stockings. The composition is rendered in black and white, emphasizing the modest, everyday nature of the scene.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure is a woman with notably small feet, dressed in a loose robe and a head covering, concentrating on her task at a small table. The presence of scissors, thread and a wooden box of needles underscores the labor of hand‑sewing, reflecting the domestic economy of early‑nineteenth‑century households.
Technique & Style
Executed as a line engraving, the image relies on fine incised lines to convey texture and light. The monochrome palette allows subtle gradations of tone, while the careful detailing of the tools and fabric suggests a straightforward, documentary approach typical of early‑1800s commercial prints.
History & Provenance
The print bears the imprint of The London Printing and Publishing Company, a firm active in the early nineteenth century. Produced in the period following the Napoleonic Wars, it likely served as an illustrative sheet for a broader audience, illustrating ordinary labour rather than elite subjects.
Artist & collection
Artist
The London Printing and Publishing Company
These prints from the early 1800s show everyday scenes and actors on stage, carved as engravings rather than paintings.
