During his formative years in Paris in the 1850s, Whistler was influenced by the injunctions of the poet and theorist Charles Baudelaire that artists should take subjects from 'modern life' and seek a new beauty in the teeming cities. Whistler's first major suite of prints, his 'French Set' brought critical acclaim but disappointing sales. Seeking more generous patrons, he moved to London in 1859. Initially under the influence of his brother-in-law Francis Seymour Haden, a pioneer of the 'etching revival', he began a series of superbly observed and finely detailed views of the River Thames with its shipping, thriving wharves and picturesque characters.

In this daring composition the two figures to the left are Whistler himself, drawing on a copperplate, and his friend and patron Sergeant Thomas, a rich lawyer who was involved in early plans for publication of the 'Thames Set' etchings. This novel little image was conceived as an announcement for the series, but Whistler's original etched lettering was mistakenly erased by the printers.