CIRCA 1750-55, BLUE CROSSED SWORDS MARK, PRESSNUMMER 5

'The Cryes of London', a group of sixteen figures of which eight are male and eight are female, were most likely modelled by J.J. Kändler and/or possibly Peter Reinicke between 1750 and 1755. The figures are modelled after engravings from the series The Cryes of the City of London Drawne after the Life, by Marcellus Laroon II. Several editions of the The Cryes were produced from 1687 onwards and the Meissen Archives include thirteen engravings from Laroon's 1711 edition, which consisted of 74 prints. The engravings were arranged in pairs, alternating between men and women. The Meissen figures from this series were also produced in pairs, although they do not follow Laroon's groupings. At Meissen, the wax and wafer seller was paired with the bird seller, but Laroon had combined her with the peddler selling pens and ink, see the example of the wax and wafer seller illustrated by Vanessa Sigalas & Meredith Chilton, All Walks of Life, A Journey with the Alan Shimmerman Collection, Stuttgart, 2022, p. 230-232, cat. no. 54 and also fig. 5 for Laroon's engraving of Buy any Wax or Wafers from The Cryes (1711).