The present figures are from the second series of Parisian street vendors which is thought to have been ordered by the Parisian merchant Jean-Charles Huet. There is no archival evidence confirming the modeller of the series, but it is thought to have been modelled by Peter Reinicke between 1753 and 1754. The series comprised thirty-four figures, most of which were criers, but a small number of other characters were also included, such as a dandy and a courtesan. The preparatory drawings (with watercolour) for the majority of the figures have survived and are in the Meissen manufactory archive, and they bear both French and German inscriptions. These drawings bear numerals which correspond to the Pressnummern on the figures.
For an example of the poultry seller along with the watercolour from the Meissen archive, see Claudia Bodinek, ‘Ordinary People’ in Alfredo Reyes and Claudia Bodinek (eds.), Magnificence of Rococo, Wawel Royal Castle, Cracow, May-September 2024 Exhibition Catalogue, Stuttgart, 2024, p. 310, where the engraved source is also illustrated. For an example of the confectionary seller, see U. Pietsch and C. Banz (eds.), Triumph of the Blue Swords, Zwinger, Dresden, Exhibition Catalogue, Leipzig, 2010, p. 356, no. 431, where Alfred Ziffer notes that the German text inscribed on the original preliminary drawing for the figure reads ‘no. 16 Ch – a woman crying all sorts of wares baked in the oven – chestnuts, spiced breads and other confectionary on paper. N 18 1753’.