A travelling showman in the Netherlands showing animalcules to children. Oil painting by a Dutch painter, ca. 1840.

Outside a house by a canal, an old man, seated, wearing a top hat, points to a microscope on a makeshift table. The table is composed of a large chest with straps at the side which enable the man to carry it on his back when travelling. Also on the table are three or four brown wooden dishes, a small white dish, a cloth or paper with a glass slide on it, and a tray with several compartments. To the left and on the further side of the table are six children, one of whom puts his hand into his pocket, presumably to take out a coin. On the right, a woman standing, wearing a white bonnet and a blue dress, holding a dish. The showman looks at her and points to the microscope. In the background, houses in the Dutch style along a canal

The man is presumably a showman who sells the opportunity to see e.g. a drop of water through a microscope. The microscope is of the Delabarre type. The woman is wearing Fries costume, whether because the scene is set in Friesland or because she a Friesian who has migrated to work elsewhere in the Netherlands

1 painting : oil on canvas ; canvas 79 x 73.6 cm

Wellcome Collection 47319i