Marcellus Laroon

Marcellus Laroon spent his days sketching London’s street life, hawkers, soldiers, chimney sweeps, right there on the pavement, chalk in hand. He turned these quick drawings into prints that sold for a few pence, so ordinary Londoners could hang their own city on their walls. One of his prints, The Fruit Girl, shows a girl balancing a heavy basket on her head; it’s not polished, just honest.

Look for it when you’re browsing early British prints, it’s a slice of 18th-century pavement you can still almost hear.