Whistler first took up etching seriously in the spring of 1858. This print is one of a series that he made when he returned to Paris from a trip to the Rhineland. Whistler published a dozen proofs under the title Twelve Etchings after Nature, which he often referred to as his “French Set”. His choice of subjects included domestic and genre scenes, glimpses of shadowy figures in backstreets and mysterious interiors. These subjects show Whistler’s awareness of modern realist trends in French art. This etching shows an old woman seated in a doorway sorting rags for papermaking. Piles of rags lie on the floor, ready to be sorted according to colour. Whistler liked to use doorways and windows through which ordinary people could be seen absorbed in their daily activities.