Smithfield Market, Manchester

G Falkner

Summary

A spectacular view of the cast-iron structure of Smithfield Market, Manchester. Our view is straight down the second of four vast bays divided by colonnades. The columns are tall and slender, and the spaces created are light and airy: the emphasis is on William Fairbairn's engineering phenomenon. There are people going about their market business: porters, traders and what appears to be inspectors or merchants occupy the foreground, alongside several horse-drawn carts laden with baskets or barrels. Dwarved by the architecture, the people appear small and scattered in the background. To the right side of the market is a row of shops or stalls with windows to the first floor and an open, colonnaded ground floor. To the left is the Market Office, William Swift's British and Foreign Fruit Warehouse and Whip's Wines and Spirits. This lithograph has been printed in three colours: black, pale blue and pale brown. The whole of the top half of the print, which has corners rounded almost to a lunette shape, is a blue, cloudy sky.