An original vintage first edition print from 1925, after the pen and ink drawing by Hanslip Fletcher. With later hand colouring.
"The Bird in Hand" was a historic London pub that was situated in Conduit Court, a narrow alleyway connecting Floral Street (formerly Hart Street) and Long Acre in Covent Garden. It was built on the site ofone of London's historic cockpits.
Hanslip Fletcher's sketch of the court immortalised it and today due to property development, there is nothing left to be seen of this aspect of historical London.
This is one of a series of 28 pen and ink illustrations of London by Fletcher Hanslip. They were originally published in the Sunday Times, and subsequently issued as books in 1925..
Hanslip Fletcher was an important artist during the twentieth century. He produced numerous sketches of London and other British towns and cities. This illustration shows London as it was in the 1920s.
Fletcher was a watercolour painter and printmaker with a special interest in London’s architecture.
Born in London, he was educated at Merchant Taylors’ School, and became a member of the Art Workers’ Guild. He lived in London all of his life.
Fletcher’s work featured regularly in London’s serious daily and Sunday newspapers, and he exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Goupil Gallery, the royal Institution and in other London galleries.
