1-191-571 - © London Museum/Heritage-Images

'Shaftesbury, or Lost and Found', 1862. A young shoe-black, his arm around the shoulders of a street urchin, pointing to a portrait engraving of Lord Shaftesbury in the window of the printseller Henry Graves at 6 Pall Mall, London. Lord Shaftesbury was the personification of the philanthropic spirit of the 19th century and was responsible for many improvements to the laws and regulations on housing and labour for the poor. The other engravings in the window all have charitable themes and include 'The Order of Release' by Millais. The piece of paper on the ground is for a meeting of the Ragged School Union of which Shaftsbury was the chairman, thus the message of this image is that poverty can be eradicated through philanthropic acts such as providing access to education.