Porträt Thomas Britton (1643-1714)

Portrait of Thomas Britton. The London coal vendor is shown as a whole figure in the three-quarter profile facing to the left. His head is slightly turned to the right and he looks to the left. He wears a cap and simple, long clothes. Above his back he wears a sack, which he holds with his left hand. In his right hand he holds a bowl as if to ask for a donation. Thomas Britton was a charcoal vendor, concert organizer and amateur musician. He hosted small chamber music concerts at home on his attic, in which Georg Friedrich Händel probably participated. For the weekly events he even set up a small organ and a harpsichord. He himself played recorder. Other copies of the paper are at the British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. The paper was published as a frontispiece in “London Magazine.” Another specimen of the paper is in the British Museum in London. The Händel-Haus Foundation also owns a varinate: BS-III 88. Signature: Engraved by R. Page. Published by J. Robins & Co. Albion Press. London. May 1 1821 Caption: THOMAS BRITTON, The Musical Small Coal-man. (Stiftung Händel-Haus Halle Foundation)