Print seller in Ireland

Bianconi - a car drawn by four horses

Bianconi - a car drawn by four horses

© taken from Charles Bianconi - A Biography by Mrs Morgan John O'Connell

Bianconi - a car drawn by four horses
© taken from Charles Bianconi - A Biography by Mrs Morgan John O'Connell

Bianconi - a car drawn by four horses

Bianconi - a car drawn by four horses

© taken from Charles Bianconi - A Biography by Mrs Morgan John O'Connell

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Faroni decided to go to Dublin instead of London. They found lodgings in the Temple Bar area. Carlo and the other boys were sent out on to streets selling the prints. Carlo's only words of English were 'buy buy'.

His English improved quickly and Carlo and the other boys were then sent off every Monday with a case of prints, returning every Saturday. They eventually travelled further away from Dublin to all parts of Ireland.

The prints were mainly of religious figures, but some were images of the Royal Family and Bonaparte. In Passage East, outside of Waterford he was arrested for selling a print of Bonaparte and spent a night locked in a cold cell. Bianconi witnessed much poverty in his travels. Carlo's apprenticeship ended in 1804 and even though not yet 18 years old, he decided to stay in Ireland and start his own print-selling business.

He bought a large case, which he filled with prints and carried around the country on his back. The curly haired Italian was very popular wherever he went and business was good. It was around this time that he started to use the English form of his name Charles.