Portrait of Joseph King, a disabled flower seller. Etching with hand-coloring. [London, England]: [Burnet Reading (1749/50-1838)], circa 1790. Image 12 1/2 x 10 1/4 in., sheet 8 x 4 3/4 in.

Period ink inscription affixed to verso reads in full: "Joseph King born in the Year 1718 in the Island of Barbados lost both his legs on Board the Kingston Man of War in the Year 1741 and was present the oldest Pensioner belonging to the Chestat? Chatham. He is the first Person that ever carried Garden Pots with Plants & Flowers "all a growing" in the streets of London for Sale having been in that Line upwards of 50 years. Engraved by B. Reading." 

An exemplary copy of a fine etched portrait of Joseph King, a disabled plant and flower seller. According to the contemporary note to the vero, King was originally from Barbados and lost his legs on the crossing to England in 1741. He made a living by selling potted plants in London. 

King sits among his flowering wares on a wagon pulled by two mules. He holds up a potted plant with one hand. Notably, he wears a peg leg, affixed with two brass buckles, on each leg. He also is equipped with crutches, which he holds in his free arm. 

A different etching of the same subject in a remarkably similar pose, held in the British Museum (1851,0308.396), identifies the subject as "Josp. King". Other copies of the same etching are held at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG D8362) and the Victoria & Albert Museum (E.1062-1931). The copy presented here, however, provides more biographical details and context for the life of Joseph King than ever before known. 

Interestingly, the inscription also identifies the engraver as Burnet Reading (1749/50-1838), an engraver and draughtsman who was working in London by 1770. He is known for engraved portraits, often using stipple as in this example. 

This example also displays extremely fine hand-coloring, with delicate washes of green and blue, allowing the detail of the foliage and King's clothing to be fully appreciated. 

[Art, Folk Art, Military Art, Etching, Engraving, Lithographs, Prints, Ephemera] [African Americana, African American History, Black History, Slavery, Enslavement, Abolition, Emancipation]