Antique chromolithograph - Among many items wandering merchants would sell, chickens were very common in Batavia and the rest of the Indies. Live chickens were sold to households either for slaughter, for eggs, pets, or as game-cocks. In this lithograph, it is likely that the selection of cocks were to be eaten or used as game-cocks. The seller kneels on the left while the baboe on the right selects the chickens. A groundskeeper stands in the middle.

Published in Leiden, the Netherlands, after a water drawing by J.C. Rappard,

Jhr. Josias Cornelis Rappard (1824-1898) was a colonel in the KNIL and a painter. During his posting in the Netherlands Indies 1842-1872, he painted and drew pictures of life and scenes in the Indies that were later, back in Leiden, The Netherlands, would be made into chromolithographs. The Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam holds a large number of these prints and collectors all over the world appreciate Rappard's classic watercolours.

Chromolithography was a popular method for colour printing in the 19th century because of its lower cost and relative ease to mass-produce. The process involves the use of stones and a chemical process to fasten images to the paper. High-end chromolithographs are hand-finished by an artist after the process to ensure the best possible fidelity in each copy.