This one found on another site. Does anyone know where I would be able to get hold of a full sized print. It's by a D. Clarke the painting and I can't find any reference to him/her or their work. I think it's a cracker and very evocative of the place.

Apparently it was painted by a customer of the Caledonia, load it on to photobucket and see what they can do for you.

Thought this one that I have may have been done by same artist but no. Good tho isn't it?

It is good Cools, wish I was that talented with a paint brush, can't even do a wall.

Cheers Bert, I'll try that. I think it's a brilliant bit of work.

Excellent painting of the market - looks like it's based on this old postcard.

The ferry picture is by Brian Gordon, born in Bromborough, who does his paintings on slate.

Thanks for the info Yoller. I just bought my print from a boot sale thought it was quite amusing. That's really interesting seeing the market like that very busy. Loved the old market when I was a child, such a good atmosphere.

There are quite a few more Brian Gordon pictures around - all brilliant. See here...

http://www.boydellgalleries.co.uk/Brian_Gordon_Section/BG-FrontPage.htm

As for the old market, it was simply a wonderful place. A crime when they knocked it down.

The Brian Gordon picture that cools posted is called 'The Flower Sellers'.

The unusual feature of his works is that they are of oil on slate. To see a large print is good, but to see an original on slate is quite fantastic.

For a number of years, there used to be a window display of a gallery in Queens Buildings, Castle St, Liverpool, where you could see and buy prints of his work. Originally you might have been lucky enough to see an original oil in the window. Fantastic.

Then they became more famous and more valuable, but the gallery closed. So, like everything else, we have to look online...

By 'eck there's some talent around the town. Yoller, you hit the nail on the head with the photo, our Sis in Canada loves them. Would love a print of that Market one though.

The print of Birkenhead market is really good I love it. That must have been what the market was like in my grandparents days as they lived in the centre of town. The Flower Sellers print by D. Gordon is also evocative of the old days too, I see you can buy a print of this picture for £12.50 from the Boydell Galleries site. I used to serve the flower ladies years ago when I worked on the old wholesale flower market in Queen Square in Liverpool. Thanks guys for a really interesting subject, I enjoyed your posts and the associated browsing that went with it.

Here's another excellent local picture by Brian Gordon. It's called Waiting For The Ferry and shows the old Woodside ferry terminal, which many of us oldies will probably remember. This print was a limited edition, so you don't see it around much.

Brian Gordon was born in Bromborough, Wirral, Cheshire in 1939. He spent a good deal of his childhood with his grandparents in working class Liverpool. The strong spirit of those days, the ferry rides on the Mersey, street markets and the bustling street life remained with him and became the basis of his work. He left school at fifteen and served an apprenticeship as a metal engraver, with time spent at the Liverpool School of Art. All his paintings have been depicted on slate taken from the demolished roofs of the factories and houses he knew as a child. Using his engraving techniques with hammer and engraving chisels, the images were first engraved in the slate and then painted in oils. The use of slate was very important to him as he felt that the slate had also played a part in the scene portrayed on it.

- from the Bridgeman Images website at ...

http://www.bridgemanimages.com/de/collections/artist/gordon-brian-contemporary-artist/

Really interesting to find out all this info , thanks everyone. Love looking at these old scenes very nostalgic.

Good gen yoller, very enlightening, cheers.

On the Bridgemanimages website the picture on the left on the bottom row,"waiting for the ferry" isn't local, anyone know where it is?

I can't make it out clearly, but does the sign on the bell tower-like building in the centre of the picture say 'Wigan Pier'?

Can't make it out either. Looks like cranes in the background. Looks like canals, not river, which would fit with Wigan but I don't think there are any cranes in that area.

goodoldphil - If you supplied the flower ladies, you might recognise someone in these pictures from 1983, taken in Williamson Square, and outside the Lyceumn.
The locations are still there, but changed a lot and the flower sellers seem to have gone all together.