Early 19thC Staffordshire figures were made in the days before photography was invented. As a result, they capture in clay images of everyday life that would otherwise not have been recorded. My little broadside vendor is such a case, and, because social history is at the heart of my collection, I had to have him.
I have seen only one other example of our broadside vendor. That example can be seen alongside--and also on page 308 of my book and among the figures attributed to Ralph Wood on this site. Interestingly, this little figure has S. F BURDILL written on his broadside. That is, no doubt, intended to read S.F. BURDETT, and the news was probably all about the radical reformer Sir Francis Burdett.