Rowlandson, Thomas (1756 – 1827) – ‘Honiton’; Shoes and Hats for sale outside the White Lion Inn.

Rowlandson frequently travelled to the West Country where he stayed with his friend, the banker Matthew Mitchell, at Hengar House, Bodmin. Rowlandson, the human observer par excellence here depicts the work of a London peddler 'J Taite' who has temporarily set up shop outside a coaching inn which can be seen in the background. Rowlandson has spared his subjects his satirical wrath and instead painted a sensitive and sympathetic image of human life. The sign suggests this is the White Lion in Honiton High Street, then an important section of the main road between London and Exeter. Rowlandson, therefore, would have passed it on his trips to visit Mitchell ... perhaps even knew the inside well!

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