J H Buckingham - Hemel Hempstead. Returning from Market

Social History (Museum of St Albans)

2000.5081

Hemel Hempstead. Returning from Market (c 1830). Steel etching by John Henry Buckingham (1800-81); published by J F Girton, Hemel Hempstead. This naïve print shows market-goers climbing the long hill out of Hemel on the St Albans Road. Those who can walk carry packs or baskets; other ladies, unwilling to walk but too poor to have their own conveyance, take the carrier's wagon. It will be quicker if they get out and walk once they have reached the top. Since the coming of the New Town (1947) the St Albans Road has moved to the south, and is now a busy dual carriageway. Buckingham's viewpoint is now somewhere in the Adeyfield Neighbourhood; our view is from the pedestrian footbridge at Jarman Park, a short distance away. J H Buckingham is best known for his watercolours and satirical cartoons of St Albans, its people and politicians. His technique was hopelessly poor by Victorian standards, but his humour and interest in everyday life make him one of the most interesting of provincial artists. This rare print is Buckingham's only known engraving; he altered it later, removing the tree, part of the bank, and the two figures awkwardly sinking out of view in the foreground.

1830

ph8727

120 transparency

1) Photo Studio

Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK.

PWD Box 64 (black).

Herts Before the Car, 2001