John Willet, a fruitseller, by Thomas Orde

An image of John Willet, a fruitseller. Orde, Thomas (British). A full-length portrait of a man carrying two large wicker baskets on his forearms and holding two smaller baskets containing round-shaped fruits? in each hand. He wears a broad-brimmed hat, with the right side turned down, a oversized coat open to a waistcoat and a long apron. He stands on a path, fields behind him with a distant spire rising above the horizon at the far left. Etched on the plate at lower left: 'T; Orde F 1768'. An inscription in pen and ink in the lower margin below the platemark: 'Willet a Gardener at Cambridge 1770'. A transcription of writing from the verso of this print is found on the verso of the artist's board onto which it is laid down: 'John Willet whose Father is a Gardener / He goos [sic] about selling Fruit'. Another impression of this print is in the collection of the British Museum: 1847,0713.60, which is inscribed on the verso, 'D. Randal Printman at Cambridge', although this is likely to have been the name of the printseller or publisher rather than the sitter. Etching and drypoint on laid paper, height 234 mm (plate), width 169 mm (plate), 1768.

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John Willet, a fruitseller. Orde, Thomas (British). A full-length portrait of a man carrying two large wicker baskets on his forearms and holding two smaller baskets containing round-shaped fruits? in each hand. He wears a broad-brimmed hat, with the right side turned down, a oversized coat open to a waistcoat and a long apron. He stands on a path, fields behind him with a distant spire rising above the horizon at the far left. Etched on the plate at lower left: 'T; Orde F 1768'. An inscription in pen and ink in the lower margin below the platemark: 'Willet a Gardener at Cambridge 1770'. A transcription of writing from the verso of this print is found on the verso of the artist's board onto which it is laid down: 'John Willet whose Father is a Gardener / He goos [sic] about selling Fruit'. Another impression of this print is in the collection of the British Museum: 1847,0713.60, which is inscribed on the verso, 'D. Randal Printman at Cambridge', although this is likely to have been the name of the printseller or publisher rather than the sitter. Etching and drypoint on laid paper, height 234 mm (plate), width 169 mm (plate), 1768.

Image data

Accession Number: P.14856-R
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Aperture: f/16.0
Focal length: 63
Camera: GFX 50S
Photographer name: Amy Jugg
Image height: 1025 pixels
Image width: 753 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.0 (Windows)
Filesize: 739.09kB
Exposure time: 1/60
ISO Speed: 100
Fnumber: 16/1
Captured: 2019:08:08 02:57:27

Key words

18th Century apron baskets British School clothes clothing coat costume drypoint English etching Fitz_PDP fruit seller fruits fruitseller full length Georgian hats male overcoat portraits print seller selling street seller vendor

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025)
            "John Willet, a fruitseller, by Thomas Orde"
            Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/image/media-218270 Accessed: 2025-12-11 11:57:33

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            {{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/image/media-218270
            |title=John Willet, a fruitseller, by Thomas Orde
            |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-11 11:57:33|publisher=The
            University of Cambridge}}

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