18th century flower girls and flower sellers

Many of these flower sellers are selling small bunches of cut flowers as nosegays. These could be worn by women (Mary Little, a lady in a pink dress) or men (e.g. The City 'Prentice at his Master’s door, Buckles and Buttons), or just carried around (An Edinburgh auction, Ensign Rosebud reposing himself).

Flower girls peddled their wares on the street, as recounted in this anecdote:

In the very early part of the Ranelagh Seaſon, this ſame Baronet who is not worth much more than five and twenty thouſand pounds per annum — accompanied three very beautiful women thither — and on being teazed at the door by a ſmart flower girl, took three roſes, and preſented one to each of his fair companions, who tripped lightly into the Rotunda — humming “No flower that blose is like this roſe:” Leaving the Baronet to adjuſt matters with the pretty prieſteſs of Flora; — but what was his aſtoniſment, when inſtead of the three halfpence he ſo generouſly proffered, ſhe abſolutely demanded three half crowns: — he ran — he flew after the three Goddeſſes — related in the moſt pathetic terms the loſs he ſhould ſuſtain by their keeping the roses — was lucky enough to regain them — and in ſpite of the ſneers of the ſurounding footmen, who by this time were masters of each circumſtance — abſolutely retunred the roses to the pretty Flower Girl!!! (The Times, December 19, 1789)

While Mayhew’s analysis of the London flower girls is well beyond the temporal scope of this page, some of his key points are likely relevant:

“None can be said to devote themselves entirely to the sale of flowers in the street, for the flower-sellers, when oranges are cheap and good, find their sale of the fruit more certain and profitable than that of flowers, and resort to it accordingly … A poor costermonger will on a fine summer’s day send out his children to sell flowers, while on other days they may be selling watercresses or, perhaps, onions.”
“Of flower-girls there are two classes. Some girls … frequent the great thoroughfares, and offer their bouquets to gentlemen, whom on an evening they pursue for a hundred yards or two in such places as the Strand, mixing up a leer with their whine for custom or for charity. Their ages are from fourteen to nineteen or twenty, and sometimes they remain out offering their flowers — or dried lavender when no fresh flowers are to be had — until late at night … The other class of flower-girls is composed of the girls who, wholly or partially, depend upon the sale of flowers for their own support or as an assistance to their parents. Some of them are the children of street-sellers, some are orphans, and some are the daughters of mechanics who are out of employment, and who prefer any course rather than an application to the parish … They walk up and down in front of the houses, offering their flowers to any one looking out of the windows, or they stand at any likely place.”

Flowers could also be purchased in florists’ shops. The Nosegay, a story from a 1797 children’s book, describes twin sisters who set off to the florist to buy themselves nosegays: “Fanny and Sophia were again invited to the houſe of a lady, whom, as Fanny regarded her as a perſon of grate taſte, ſhe was deſirous to pleaſe her by appearance. She put on all her little finery, but found that one thing was neceſſary to complete her dreſs, which was a Noſegay, and this ſhe was determined to buy when they reached the town … Fanny could talk of nothing but calling at the floriſt’s, and of the elegant Noſegay with which ſhe ſhould be adorned.”