One of the influences on Gilt City is Marcellus Laroon’s “Cryes of the City of London Drawne after the Life” (1687). In a extensive series of drawings made from observation, Laroon depicts the street people of London’s Covent Garden as single figures, each hustling their wares. The artist shows various levels of poverty through a meticulous attention to detail.
Jacques Callot’s (1592–1635) engravings of `Grotesque Dwarfs’ provided a model for Crown Derby’s pair of ceramic figures known as The Mansion House Dwarfs. The figures commemorate a father and son who earned a living by frequenting the area around Mansion House in the City of London, wearing advertisements pinned to their hats.
