William Alexander (1766-1816)

The subject was engraved in Alexander's The Costume of China: illustrated in forty-eight coloured engravings (London, 1805): 'The dress worn by this person is common among the middle class of the people. The jacket without sleeves is of silk, having a collar made from slips of velvet; the stockings are of cotton quilted, with a border of the same, and his shoes are embroidered. His pipe, pouch, knife, and chopsticks are suspended from a sash; in his right hand is a basket of birds' nests, which he carries for sale to the epicures of China. ... On the banks near which he stands, is a post to which a lantern is attached; the background is a scene at Han-tcheou-foo.'