The Chapman
Date1890
Artist
Howard Pyle
(American illustrator, 1853–1911)
Illustration Citation"Chapbook Heroes," by Howard Pyle, in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, June 1890
MediumOil on canvas board
Dimensions23 1/2 x 16 in. (59.7 x 40.6 cm)
frame: 35 7/16 × 28 in. (90 × 71.1 cm)
frame: 35 7/16 × 28 in. (90 × 71.1 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mr. George Callery, 1963
Object number1963-28
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPAINTING
Label TextIn the 18th and 19th centuries, chapmen were itinerant sellers of broadsides and small pamphlets which offered “all manner of old and popular stories, tales, quips, jests." Traveling through cities and rural villages, they also sold houehold goods, as this chapman's portable case shows. The word "chap" comes from the Old English word for trade. 
