Sarah Porter, "Queen Of The Touters At Tunbridge Wells"

After Vander Smissen 'Mrs Sarah Porter, Queen of the Touters at Tunbridge Wells', a mezzotint, engraved by William Pether C. 1770, glazed in ebonised, gilt & gesso wood frame.

Age related browning to the engraving, losses to the gesso work.

A residence of Tunbridge Richard ‘Beau’ Nash declared himself Master of Ceremonies in 1735, and set to make TW a place to visit so invited Dippers, musicians, bellringers, waiters, clergy, booksellers to the town and they all had to be paid and Nash set subscriptions to be levied from visitors.

He employed Sarah Porter, who became known as the ‘Queen of the Touters’, for this task. She would stand at the door of the ballroom and greet each new arrival, enquiring after their mother, sister, brother or aunt, as though she was intimately acquainted with them. The visitor would then be expected to pay up. If they refused, Sarah would follow them round the room, with paper and pencil in hand, until they did so. However annoyed people became, however rude they were to her, she never lost her cool or became uncivil.

The same engraving is housed within the collections of the British Museum, The National Portrait Gallery and The Royal Collection

A hand written explanation on the reverse dated, 1832 penned by a Tunbridge Wells Resident Mrs Buttons???

37/45/3cm