The Chapman

The Chapman
The Chapman

The Chapman

Date1890
Artist (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)
Credit LineGift of Mr. George Callery, 1963
Object number1963-28
On View
Not on view
ClassificationsPAINTING
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.