Tags
1800's, Armerie, armerie jean d', art, artist, arts, battle, beggar, beggars, canvas, chalk, chalker, chalking, chalks, charles, christmas, cold, d', dickens, england, film, french, greetings, happy, history, jean, london, movie, new, news, newspaper, pavement, pavement art, paving, philip, photography, publication, santa, screever, screeving, seasons, social, stone, street, uk, urban, urbancanvas, usa, victorian, war, winter, world, year
Christmas Screeving
Working the stones at Christmas time was a popular sight on the streets of Britain.
Charles Dickens wrote in his book of CHRISTMAS STORIES (1843) “Our conversation had brought us to a crowd of people, the greater part struggling for a front place from which to see something on the pavement, which proved to be various designs executed in coloured chalks on the pavement stones, lighted by two candles stuck in mud sconces” In this description he is indeed talking about Night Screevers; pavement artists who would take advantage of the short days and long nights leading up to Christmas day and beyond.
People were often more generous during the festive season. The sight of a poor artist working the stones and braving the cold winds and weathering of a bleak December day, often melted the warmth of human kindness. The more talented and topical a screever, the more money that could be made; for many, it was their only source of income, pavement artists where often only a drawing away from the workhouse. Living hand-to-mouth and on their wits, by 1890 over 500 pavement artists were making a FULL TIME living on the streets of London alone; by 1911, this had risen to well over 1000 screevers.
The Christmas of 1862, and an American travel writer in London recorded how he ‘stumbled upon’ a screever “the types of which is found nowhere else in the world” and the work he described as “A string of wondrous pearls cast at the feet of the pavement traveller”
Indeed, Britain, and especially London was the only place anywhere in the world to embrace this unique culture of pavement art. It became a tourist attraction in its own right and printers began to publish postcards and even jigsaw puzzles celebrating the humble screever. One of the first Christmas postcards was by Wildt & Kray Ltd of London; they published this charming card featuring DOGS as pavement artists, standing beside their drawing of a winter snow scene chalked in an oval frame on the pavement, 1904.
Printed in Germany, this card was finished in metallic gold and silver ink.
In 1936, the Alexander Korda production of the film THINGS TO COME features a pavement artist, drawing the words “A Merry Christmas” on the pavements of the fictional British city of ‘Everytown’ The scene is set on Christmas Eve 1940 and was famous for its prediction of world war 2. It is thought that the writer HG WELLS himself, insisted that this scene be included in the finished film!
1953 was a very good year for this pavement artist who was snapped on New Year’s Eve in London’s Trafalgar Square, by the Picture Post. It features revellers, admiring the work before moving on to their party, but look how respectful they are not to tread on the art!
Night screeving in Britain goes back to the early 1700’s.
Of course today, Christmas screeving is no longer confined to the streets of London and this photo was published in the Boston Herald in 1989 and features visiting French art student & pavement artist Jean D’ Armerie, working on a seasonal Father Christmas on Washington Street, Boston USA.
There are many, many more stories, photos and films featuring Christmas pavement art & artists……these are just a few I’ve found, proving that pavement art is not just a fair weather art.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS!
Written and researched by Philip Battle.
Visit my Artists of The Paving Stone page on Facebook!