Merchant Collection

The harbour of Trieste, Italy in the 1930s

Chickweed seller. From the Series "Cris de Paris" (The Cries of Paris), 1815. Private Collection

Melon seller. From the Series "Cris de Paris" (The Cries of Paris), 1815. Private Collection

HMS Worcester, Greenhithe, Kent -- Merchant Navy training vessel. Date: circa 1946

Knotting Class, Training Ship Arethusa, Greenhithe, Kent
A group of boys aboard the Training Ship Arethusa receiving knotting and splicing instruction. The ship received boys aged 13-16 from a variety of poor backgrounds, including the workhouse

Compass Drill, Training Ship Arethusa, Greenhithe, Kent
A group of boys aboard the Training Ship Arethusa receiving compass instruction. The ship received boys aged 13-16 from a variety of poor backgrounds, including the workhouse

1935 Kings Silver Jubilee Fleet Review
A panoramic view showing the berthing arrangements made for the Review of the Fleet at Spithead by King George V to celebrate his Silver Jubilee

TS Arethusa, 1962
Photograph of the four-masted Training-Ship Arethusa, then used to train boys for the Royal and Merchant navies

HMS Jervis Bay attacking the Admiral Scheer, Second Worl
Illustration showing the Royal Navy armed merchant cruiser Jervis Bay (centre) steaming towards the German pocket-battleship Admiral Scheer, North Atlantic, November 1940

Chaucers Canterbury Pilgrims on the road
* NOTE - FULL FILE IS A LONG PANORAMA - Preview split into 3 sections for ease of viewing * Chaucers Canterbury Pilgrims on the road reproduction of a painting by Stephen Reid (1873-1948) (from left)

Poland, Greater Poland, Poznan, Old Town, Market Square

The Eddystone Lighthouse of 1698
Engraving of the Eddystone lighthouse, built by Henry Winstanley in 1698, which was destroyed in a storm in 1703

The Arnolfini Portrait by Van Eyck
The Arnolfini Portrait. 1434. By Jan van Eyck (1394-1441). Oil on oak panel. National Gallery. London. Great Britain

MV Empire Windrush, best known for the arrival of West Indian immigrants at Tilbury Docks on 22 June 1948. Date: circa 1948

WW2 poster, The Merchant Navy was there! Merchant Navy Comforts Service. Date: 1940s

RMS Orvieto - Orient Line Steamer
The Royal Mail Ship Orvieto was a steamer of the Orient Line engaged in the passenger trade between England and Australia

South Street docks in New York City, 1870s
Merchant ships unloading along South Street, New York City, 1870s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Native Americans exchanging furs for goods at a Hudson Bay Company post. Hand-colored 19th-century woodcut of a Frederic Remington illustration

R Colin Snow coal merchants wagon, Barnburgh Colliery, South Yorkshire, 1961. Artist
R Colin Snow coal merchants wagon, Barnburgh Colliery, South Yorkshire, 1961. Snows were one of the many coal merchants operating in the South Yorkshire area, selling locally mined coal

Merchant in a fur coat, 1920. Artist: Kustodiev, Boris Michaylovich (1878-1927)
Merchant in a fur coat, 1920. Found in the collection of Regional W. Wereshchagin Art Museum, Mykolaiv

Map of the extent of the Hanseatic League in about 1400. The Hanseatic League was an alliance of about 100 north German towns and trading interests important in northern Europe from the 13th century

Advert for United Kingdom Tea Company 1894
Asian man pours tea from a china tea-pot. Date: 1894

HMS Jervis Bay, armed merchant cruiser, WW2
HMS Jervis Bay, an armed merchant cruiser which served during the Second World War

London - Billingsgate Fish Market - Standing amid the catch
Oh My Cod! London - Billingsgate Fish Market - Standing amid the catch. Date: circa 1908

Horse-drawn cart for Trumans Brewery in Ashford, Kent
Delightful horse-drawn cart for Trumans Brewery in Ashford, Kent. Trumans Brewery (founded in 1666) of Brick Lane in the Spitalfields area of London eventually closed in 1989. Date: circa 1910s

Sir John Brockett
SIR JOHN BROCKETT of Brockett Hall, Hertfordshire : merchant trading with Spain. Date: 1538 - 1598

Lighthouse warning a clipper ship of dangerous shores
Sailing ship passing a lighthouse marking the way to home port, 1800s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem
Marketplace in Jerusalem at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, 1800s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Bakers at their trade in the late Middle Ages
Bakers of York, showing their guild ordinances, England, 1590s. Hand-colored 19th-century woodcut reproduction of an earlier illustration

Street scene, Carmarthen, Dyfed, South Wales
A street scene in Carmarthen, the county town of Carmarthenshire, Dyfed, South Wales. The grocers shop on the left displays a large coffee pot on the corner of the building

Save Food Poster / Wwi
Poster depicting a British soldier encouraging those on the home front to save food in response to food shortages due to German U-boat targeting of British merchant ships

Blackheath Goffer
To the Society of Goffers (golfers) At Blackheath Mr William Innes, merchant, plays golf on the heath. A caddy holds his clubs

Morden College
Built by sir John Morden, a Turkey merchant, circa 1700, to house decayed merchants and still providing a home for people in unfortunate circumstances

Sir Thomas Leigh
SIR THOMAS LEIGH London merchant, alderman and Lord Mayor in 1558

Scene from Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice
A scene from Shakespeares comedy, The Merchant of Venice, with Portia and other characters

Bleeding Heart Yard
Many small businesses, including a paper merchant, have their premises here

Carrack, a merchant ship of the late 1400s
Armed Genoese carrack, a merchant ship of the 1400s and 1500s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Messageries Maritimes - Promotional postcard
Promotional postcard for Messageries Maritimes - a French merchant shipping company. Date: circa 1950s

Radio London, offshore commercial radio station, which operated from 23rd December 1964 to 14th August 1967, from a ship, MV Galaxy, anchored in the North Sea, also know as a pirate radio station

Berry Bros and Rudd Wine Merchants, London, England, United Kingdom

Berry Bros and Rudd Wine Merchants, London, England, United Kingdom

Tower of the Winds in Athens, ancient Greece
Tower of the Winds topped by a weathervane of Triton, and with sundials on the outer walls, ancient Athens. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

New England, Connecticut, Greenwich, Old Greenwich, stores and art being sold on Sound Beach Avenue

Merchants and acrobats arriving before the european ambassadors
REV287790 Merchants and acrobats arriving before the european ambassadors, from Sur-Nama (vellum) by Turkish School

Broad Quay, Bristol, c. 1760 (oil on canvas)
2830936 Broad Quay, Bristol, c.1760 (oil on canvas) by British School, (18th Century); Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, UK; eBristol Museums, Galleries & Archives; Given by Mr A.W

T & W Farmiloe Limited - Rochester Row, Westminster, London
The warehouses of T & W Farmiloe Limited - Rochester Row, Westminster, London

Poster, Nil Simile, The Ladys Shoe, sold by W F Heddon, Bridge Street, Carmarthen, Wales. Date: circa 1920

Sir Andrew Judde, Lord Mayor of London
Sir Andrew Judd (or Judde, c.1492-1558), merchant, six times Master of the Skinners Company, Mayor of Calais and Lord Mayor of London. He founded a school in Tonbridge, Kent. Date: circa 1600

Spithead panorama, ships on south side
Panorama of the Coronation Review: the left-hand section, showing ships on the south side

Horse pulling coal delivery cart
Horse pulling a coal delivery cart of Joyner and Sons with two tradesmen riding on the cart. Date: 1930s

Soho, London - 20 Greek Street W1 - Hopkins Purvis & Sons Ltd, paint merchants. 1973

WW2 poster, Merchant Navy Comforts Service
WW2 poster advertising the Merchant Navy Comforts Service, which organised parcels of food, drink, clothing and other comforts during the war. Date: 1940s

Jessica by Luke Fildes
A portrait of the Shakespeare character, Jessica from The Merchant of Venice by Sir Luke Fildes (1843-1918)

Indian Rice Merchants, Rangoon, Myanmar (Burma)
Indian Rice Merchants (Lakhmichand Manikchand) in Rangoon, Myanmar (Burma) - note the slightly cheeky bit of advertising by the Insurance Broker in the front row

MANHATTAN PURCHASE, 1626. Peter Minuit (1580-1638) Dutch colonial official in America. Peter Minuits purchase of Manhattan Island, 1626, after the painting by Alfred Fredericks

Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II
H.R.H. Princess Elizabeth dancing with Lord Rupert Nevill, younger son of the Marquess of Abergavenny, at the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy Ball. This was the first public ball she attended

Muriel Beaumont. Actress. Wife Gerald du Maurier. She played Nerissa The Merchant Venice and appeared in English translations light French comedies. Unattributed photograpic portrait Date: circa 1905

Spanish pirates attacking English merchantmen
Spanish ships capturing English ships with supplies for the colonies. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Steering a sailing-ship through stormy seas
Sailors at the wheel of a merchant ship in a gale, 1800s. Hand-colored engraving of a 19th-century illustration

Dutch ships in the Arctic, 1600s
Dutch ships of Henry Hudsons time near Novaya Zemlya, early 1600s. Hand-colored 19th-century woodcut reproduction of an earlier illustration

Merchant ship attacked by Chinese pirates
Chinese pirates attacking a European merchant ship, 1800s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Dutch East India House in Amsterdam, showing warehouses and shipyard. Hand-colored woodcut

Medieval guild seal
Guild merchants seal, Gloucester, England, circa 1200. Hand-colored woodcut reproduction

Joseph Yates Ltd - 33 Vauxhall Bridge Road
Joseph Yates Ltd - Timber Merchant - 33 Vauxhall Bridge Road, Pimlico, London

The Jewel Box, (pencil and watercolour on paper)
823500 The Jewel Box, (pencil and watercolour on paper) by Simonetti, Ettore (19th century); 75.5x53.3 cm; Private Collection; (add.info.: The Jewel Box. Ettore Simonetti (1857-1909)

British Empire Exhibition - Sir Robert & Lady Ho-Tung
Sir Robert and Lady Ho-Tung, who had travelled to Britain in 1924 for the British Empire Exhibition

Nanban Six-Fold Screen Depicting the Arrival of a Portuguese Ship for Trade
3548717 Nanban Six-Fold Screen Depicting the Arrival of a Portuguese Ship for Trade, Edo Period (ink, colour & gold leaf on paper) by Japanese School

Holloway Road, Islington, North London, with a large public house on the corner. Date: circa 1905

Two Indian women are approached by a bead merchant Date: early 20th century?

Wine expert at Tanners Wine Merchants, Shrewsbury
A wine expert with a glass of claret in the old shop of Tanners Wine Merchants, Wyle Cop, Shrewsbury, Shropshire. The company was established in 1842 by sea captain William Tanner

The Merchant Georg Gisze, 1532. Artist: Hans Holbein the Younger
The Merchant Georg Gisze, 1532. Painting housed in the Gemaldegalerie, Berlin. From A History of Painting, Volume IV by Haldane MacFall. [T. C. and E. C. Jack, London & Edinburgh, 1911]

Tobias and Angel, 1578-1610. Artist: Adam Elsheimer
Tobias and Angel, 1578-1610

Georgian store, and Circassian and Ingush man.. Handcolored lithograph from Friedrich Wilhelm Goedsches Complete Gallery of Peoples in True Pictures, Meissen, circa 1835-1840

Africa, Botswana, Okavango Delta, Jao Reserve, Tubu Tree. Colorful camp staff made reed baskets

Marco Polo welcomed at the court of Kublai Khan in China, 1200s. Hand-colored halftone of a 19th-century illustration

Travelling Cobbler. From the Series "Cris de Paris" (The Cries of Paris), 1815. Private Collection

Comic postcard, Outside the builders merchants - man with bucket and toilet seat Date: 20th century

Street Merchant, 1888 (oil on canvas)
3076395 Street Merchant, 1888 (oil on canvas) by Deutsch, Ludwig (1855-1935); Private Collection; French, out of copyright

A water carrier, itinerant merchant posing with his equipment
LSE4329501 A water carrier, itinerant merchant posing with his equipment, a kind of tank box and a container uses as a measure and cup, in Roustchouk (Romania)

View of 18 Mortimer Street, London, with the offices of E Dubois & Co on the first floor, and Nickolls & Baker, Corn Merchant, below. A bus to Liverpool Street is passing by. Date: 1904

Snaresbrook Royal Merchant Seamens Orphanage Infirmary
A view of the infirmary building at the Merchant Seamens Orphanage, Snaresbrook, North London. Date: circa 1910

British merchant ship war losses by G. H. Davis
British merchant ship war losses during the Second World War: the toll of oversea supplies

SHANGHAI: BUND, 1883. A view of the English settlement along the Bund in Shanghai
SHANGHAI: BUND, 1883

THOMAS GABRIEL (1811-1891). British merchant and Lord Mayor of London, 1866-1867. Engraving, 1866

All products are expertly crafted, using premium materials, tailored to your specifications and promptly shipped

EDITORS COMMENTS

"Exploring the Rich History of Merchants: From HMS Worcester to Greenhithe, Kent" Step back in time and delve into the world of merchants with a visit to Greenhithe, Kent. This quaint town holds fascinating secrets that unravel the tales of trade and commerce. Begin your journey at HMS Worcester, where young apprentices once honed their skills on the Compass Drill. The Training Ship Arethusa also played a significant role in shaping future merchants in this maritime hub. Immerse yourself in art history as you admire "The Arnolfini Portrait" by Van Eyck. This masterpiece captures the essence life during its creation in 1434. Travel across borders to Poland's Greater Poland region, specifically Poznan's Old Town Market Square. Here, bustling marketplaces were frequented by ambitious merchants seeking new opportunities for growth and prosperity. TS Arethusa continued its legacy well into 1962, training generations of aspiring traders through Knotting Classes. These skills would prove invaluable as they navigated the ever-changing tides of commerce. Witness an iconic moment from World War II as HMS Jervis Bay fearlessly attacked the Admiral Scheer—an act emblematic ships turned war heroes when duty called. Marvel at historical maps showcasing the vast extent of the Hanseatic League around 1400—a powerful alliance that shaped European trade routes and influenced merchant practices for centuries to come. Join Chaucer's Canterbury Pilgrims on their road trip towards spiritual enlightenment—a diverse group including merchants who embarked on this famous pilgrimage alongside other social classes. Transport yourself back to 1894 with an advert for United Kingdom Tea Company—an enticing glimpse into how marketing strategies evolved over time to entice discerning customers with quality products. Finally, relive King George V's Silver Jubilee Fleet Review held in 1935—a grand spectacle celebrating Britain's naval might while acknowledging merchants' crucial role in sustaining the empire's prosperity.