Booksellers.- Dipstale (E.) Portrait of Thomas "Tommy" Osborne (d.1823)

Booksellers.- Dipstale (E., 19th century) Portrait of Thomas "Tommy" Osborne (d.1823), the "Itinerant Bookseller of Exeter", oil on panel, signed 'E.Dipst[?]ale/ Painter', 275 x 192 mm (10 3/4 x 7 1/2 in), some surface scuffs and scratches, rubbing to pigment in places, surface dirt, framed, [19th century] Provenance: Private collection, Dorset, UK *** A distinguished portrait of the Exeter bookseller, shown with numerous books and pamphlets stuffed in his pockets, with his right hand proffering a red book, and several beads of perspiration dripping from his forehead. Thomas, or Tommy, Osborne was an itinerant bookseller and stationer who achieved fame as one of Exeter’s distinctive street characters of the early nineteenth century. Several other portraits of him are known, with two held in the collection of the Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery.

Estimate:£500

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