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A Staffordshire figure of Billy Waters Circa 1821-30 image 1
A Staffordshire figure of Billy Waters Circa 1821-30 image 2
A Staffordshire figure of Billy Waters Circa 1821-30 image 3
A Staffordshire figure of Billy Waters Circa 1821-30 image 4
A Staffordshire figure of Billy Waters Circa 1821-30 image 5
Lot 430

A Staffordshire figure of Billy Waters
Circa 1821-30

13 December 2012, 11:00 GMT
Edinburgh

Sold for £562.50 inc. premium

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A Staffordshire figure of Billy Waters

Circa 1821-30
After Enoch Wood, modelled with a peg leg, playing the fiddle, his wooden leg resting on the back of a dog, on a stepped cobbled base, 18cm high

Footnotes

Billy Waters, the 'King of the Beggars' was a well known London character. After losing a leg fighting in the British Army he supplemented his pension by begging in the West End. He starred in Pierce Egan's 'Tom and Jerry', a popular opera from 1821. Billy died in 1823 in St Giles' workhouse. In this version Billy Waters is incorrectly depicted, for he should have been painted as a black man.

Additional information