day of drawing; likewise the men who carried boards in the street
used to have one pound per week, and the bill-stickers at that time
would not allow any one to wilfully cover or destroy their bills,
as they had a society amongst themselves, and very frequently dined
together at some public-house where they used to go of an evening
to have their work delivered out untoe ’em.”‘
All this His Majesty delivered in a gallant manner; posting it, as
it were, before me, in a great proclamation. I took advantage of
the pause he now made, to inquire what a ‘two-sheet double crown’
might express?
‘A two-sheet double crown,’ replied the King, ‘is a bill thirtynine
inches wide by thirty inches high.’
‘Is it possible,’ said I, my mind reverting to the gigantic
admonitions we were then displaying to the multitude – which were
as infants to some of the posting-bills on the rotten old warehouse
– ‘that some few years ago the largest bill was no larger than
that?’
‘The fact,’ returned the King, ‘is undoubtedly so.’ Here he
instantly rushed again into the scroll.
‘”Since the abolishing of the State Lottery all that good feeling
has gone, and nothing but jealousy exists, through the rivalry of
each other. Several bill-sticking companies have started, but have
failed. The first party that started a company was twelve year
ago; but what was left of the old school and their dependants
joined together and opposed them. And for some time we were quiet
again, till a printer of Hatton Garden formed a company by hiring
the sides of houses; but he was not supported by the public, and he
left his wooden frames fixed up for rent. The last company that
started, took advantage of the New Police Act, and hired of Messrs.
Grissell and Peto the hoarding of Trafalgar Square, and established
a bill-sticking office in Cursitor Street, Chancery Lane, and
engaged some of the new bill-stickers to do their work, and for a
time got the half of all our work, and with such spirit did they
carry on their opposition towards us, that they used to give us in
charge before the magistrate, and get us fined; but they found it
so expensive, that they could not keep it up, for they were always
employing a lot of ruffians from the Seven Dials to come and fight
us; and on one occasion the old bill-stickers went to Trafalgar
Square to attempt to post bills, when they were given in custody by
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the watchman in their employ, and fined at Queen Square five
pounds, as they would not allow any of us to speak in the office;
but when they were gone, we had an interview with the magistrate,
who mitigated the fine to fifteen shillings. During the time the
men were waiting for the fine, this company started off to a
public-house that we were in the habit of using, and waited for us
coming back, where a fighting scene took place that beggars
description. Shortly after this, the principal one day came and
shook hands with us, and acknowledged that he had broken up the
company, and that he himself had lost five hundred pound in trying
to overthrow us. We then took possession of the hoarding in
Trafalgar Square; but Messrs. Grissell and Peto would not allow us
to post our bills on the said hoarding without paying them – and
from first to last we paid upwards of two hundred pounds for that
hoarding, and likewise the hoarding of the Reform Club-house, Pall
Mall.”‘
His Majesty, being now completely out of breath, laid down his
scroll (which he appeared to have finished), puffed at his pipe,
and took some rum-and-water. I embraced the opportunity of asking
how many divisions the art and mystery of bill-sticking comprised?
He replied, three – auctioneers’ bill-sticking, theatrical billsticking,
general bill-sticking.
‘The auctioneers’ porters,’ said the King, ‘who do their billsticking,
are mostly respectable and intelligent, and generally
well paid for their work, whether in town or country. The price
paid by the principal auctioneers for country work is nine
shillings per day; that is, seven shillings for day’s work, one