"Tract Distributor"
Charles Samuel Keene British
Not on view
This design for a wood-engraving concerns an exchange between a woman who distributes tracts and a boy shoe black. The related caption (inscribed on a separate piece of paper) reads:
'Tract M'M. Thank'ee M'M. Have you shoes blacked by a nice little boy M'M!' (suggesting that the boy only accepts a tract to try to drum up trade).
Keene was a leading British illustrator who worked for Punch between 1864 and 1890. His imagery generally focused on humorous situations in humble surroundings, unlike his contemporary George Du Maurier who satirized London society.
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