Sepia postcard
Acc.no: PEZPH : 1992.786
Identification
Item: A Cornish Fishwife
Description: A fish wife is pictured in Market Jew Street, Penzance, with a cawl on her back. This heavy wicker basket was strapped around her waist and head, hence the need to wear a hat or headscarf to ease the strain. Her shawl and her apron would partly absorb the liquid that issued from the basket. Fish wives would not only sell in the street, but go door to door to deliver. It is reckoned that up to 300 pilchards could be fitted into the cawl. There appears to be a gutter at the lady's feet, but there was no proper drainage system in the town in the late 19th century. In the background are the Market House and the Humphry Davy statue with the taxi rank beneath. Sometimes the fish wife would have small sacks of salt for sale from under her apron!
Condition: Good -
Description
Height: Mm
Width: Mm
Material: Postcard
Production
Method: Printed;
Person: Welch, J
Category: Photography
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