Post-Office at Fairport

A woman at the post office takes a peek through the gap of a sealed letter, while another woman sitting at a nearby table, where more mail is piled up, puts her finger to her lips. This engraving is also known as One Peep Was Enough.

The engraver’s credit line reads E. Bacon although the engraving of this illustration is usually attributed to Frederick Bacon (see the Athenaeum, Jan. to Dec. 1832 and V&A).