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From Friday 1st May 2026
Sanders of Oxford is pleased to present fifty of our most interesting recent acquisitions. Over the past few months we have been busy cataloguing a collection of fine and decorative prints spanning a diverse range of subjects, engravers, and prices.
All works are available to purchase and will be on display in the gallery.
01. Veduta del Pantheon d’Agrippa oggi Chiesa di S.
Maria ad Martyres
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Etching
Piranesi F. Si vendono paoli tre presso il medesimo Autore nel palazzo del Conte Tomati a Strada Felice, vicino alla Trinita de Monti. [Rome, c.1761]
Image 472 x 692 mm, Plate 475 x 695 mm, Sheet 505 x 711 mm
A first state printing of Piranesi’s celebrated view of the Pantheon, one of the most iconic and sought after of his Vedute di Roma The Vedute di Roma was Piranesi’s most popular and best known series, celebrating the churches, monuments, ruins, bridges, fountains, and public spaces of the city of Rome. The immense popularity of the series meant that they were in constant demand, and Piranesi continued to reissue and add to the series from the 1740s until his death in 1778.
The Vedute were particularly popular with British grand tourists, and had a profound effect on the British neoclassical movement. Demand was such that the series was reprinted numerous times after Piranesi’s death, including two Paris editions published by his sons, Francesco and Pietro.
Piranesi’s view shows the building, today the Roman Catholic Church of Santa Maria ad Martyres, as it appeared in his own time, with the Renaissance-era twin bell-towers and wroughtiron colonnade grills that have since been removed from the temple’s facade.
The Pantheon was commissioned in the late first century BC by the Roman general Marcus Agrippa, as part of the redevelopment plan of the Campus Martius carried out during the reign of Augustus. Piranesi’s attribution to Agrippa is slightly erroneous, as the building as it appears in his engraving was a rebuild carried out by Hadrian, after the previous incarnation, built by Domitian, was destroyed in a fire. The name of the temple derives from the fact that it was dedicated to ‘all the gods.’
Hind 60. i/v, Wilton-Ely 193, F761, C754.
Central vertical fold. Trimmed close to plate on all sides, without loss to plate or image. Small tear to left margin, just into border of image. Small waterstain to bottom right corner of sheet. Minor rubbing and surface abrasion to edges of sheet.
[53970]
£3,750
02. Piramide di C. Cestio
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Etching
Presso l’autore. Piranesi F. [Rome, c.1756]
Image 385 x 531 mm, Plate 391 x 535 mm, Sheet 501 x 665 mm
A first state printing of Piranesi’s view of the Pyramid of Gaius Cestius, from the Vedute di Roma. This is the second, and more dramatic, of two views of the pyramid by Piranesi, looking across the northeastern face of the pyramid towards the Via Ostiense and Via Marmorata beyond.
The pyramid’s funerary inscription, commemorating the Augustan era magistrate Gaius Cestius, can be seen at centre, above an area of scrubby land holding Rome’s first Protestant cemetery, famous as the burial place of the English poets Percy Shelley and John Keats. On either side of the monument, sections of the 3rd century AD Aurelian walls can be seen, testament to the creative reuse of the monument as part of later city defences.
Beyond the crenells and arcades of the walls, the tower of the Porta di San Paolo can be seen. In the foreground, antiquarians share the shadow of the pyramid with beggars and the goats of a nearby herdsman, while a ragged figure in the bottom right corner gestures to the title and inscription of the plate.
The inscription below the title reads: “1. Terreno sgombrato d’intorno alla Piramide sotto il Pontificato d’Alessandro VII. 2. Porta aperta di quel tempo nella Piramide. 3. Colonne ritrovate nello sgombro e riposte nell’antica positura. 4. Mura di Roma. 5. Torri della Porta di S. Paolo.”
Hind 36. i/iii, Wilton-Ely 190, F745, C796.
Central vertical fold. Minor time toning to margins from old frame.
[53971]
£2,500
03. Veduta interna della Basilica di S. Pietro in Vaticano. Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Etching
Piranesi fecit. Presso l’Autore a Strada Felice nel Palazzo Tomati vicino alla Trinita de monti. A paoli due e mezzo. [Rome, c.1775]
Image 385 x 592 mm, Plate 410 x 595 mm, Sheet 510 x 714 mm
An interior view of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, from the Vedute di Roma. The view shows the truly colossal scale of the Church’s nave, looking towards the transept with its famous baldacchino, commissioned by Pope Urban VIII and designed by Bernini, which covers the Tomb of St Peter and the high altar. In the foreground, worshippers and tourists gather in small packs, while a group of clergymen process in two lines towards the altar.
Hind 4 iii/vi, Wilton-Ely 137, F 788, C 689.
Central vertical fold. Old adhesive staining to top margin, not affecting image or plate. Fleur-de-lys watermark (Hind 3). [53972]
£1,200
04. Veduta del Tempio di Giove Tonante
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Etching
Piranesi Archit. dis.ed inc. Presso l’Autore a Strada Felice vincino alla Trinita de monti. A paoli due a mezzo. [Rome, c.1775]
Image 395 x 588 mm, Plate 398 x 594 mm, Sheet 529 x 743 mm
A striking view of the ruins of the Temple of Vespasian and Titus in the Roman Forum, from the Vedute di Roma. The construction of the temple was begun shortly after the death of Vespasian by his son and successor Titus in AD 79, as a celebration of the Flavian dynasty. Titus’ short reign meant that the majority of the temple was constructed by his younger brother Domitian, who dedicated it to both his father and brother. The temple was repaired at the beginning of the third century by Septimius Severus and Caracalla. By Piranesi’s day, over a millennium of sporadic reuse and despoliation had reduced the building to just three columns, which themselves were buried for much of their height in successive generations of silt from the flooding of the Tiber.
The result is a very picturesque scene, with tourists and antiquarians rubbing shoulders with beggars and goatherds in the shadow of the colossal Corinthian column capitals. Piranesi’s title replicates the standard misattribution of the temple as the Augustan era Temple of Jupiter Tonans, following misidentification of the structure by the architect and antiquarian Pirro Ligorio in the mid-sixteenth century. It was not until the early nineteenth century that the ruins were correctly identified as the Temple of Vespasian and Titus.
The inscription below the title reads: “Il Tempio di Giove Tonante alle radici del Monte Capitolino fu da Ottaviano Augusto fabbricato per voto, e poscia dopo aver sofferto incendio con altre Fabbriche del vicino Campid.o fu restituito dall’Imp. re Adriano. Per cio, che si scopre in questo insigne Avanzo dell’Ambulacro esterno, tanto per la esquisita delicatezza e disposizione degl’intagli, quanto per la sodezza, e maesta della Fabbrica, egli puo meritam.te annove-rarsi tra i pui cospicui ornati edifici, che sono stati innalzati in quel secolo felice. 1. Colonne di marmo greco, di gran mole, e di un solo pezzo, in gran parte sepolte nel terreno. 2. Fianco del moderno Campidoglio, piantato sopra l’antico Tabulario, segnato 3.”
Hind 44. ii/vi, Wilton-Ely 182, F819, C793.
Central vertical fold. Printer’s creases to right and left of central fold, and to bottom margin. Minor time toning from old mount to margins, just outside platemark. Staining from old adhesive tape to verso. Fleur-de-lys watermark (Hind 3). [53974]
£1,800
Cunego’s Roman Antiquities
The 14 plates of Cunego’s Views of Antique Buildings and Famous Ruins in Italy were based upon the series of paintings by the French antiquary and artist, Charles Louis Clérisseau. Although far less prolific than his contemporary, Piranesi, Cunego’s Views show a similar talent for architectural and archaeological detail.
The scope of this series is also far broader than those of Piranesi, being some of the very first depictions of Roman ruins outside the city of Rome, particular some lesser-known and lesser-studied monuments that would not draw proper scholarly attention until the following century. Cunego’s work as a figural engraver is also apparent in these plates, with many of the foregrounds of his ruins populated by daily-life scenes.
05. Temple of Serapis. Temple de Serapis
Domenico Cunego after Charles Louis Clérisseau
Etching and engraving
C. Clerisseau P. D. Cunego Sc. Romae [Rome, 1760-1767]
Image 432 x 573 mm, Plate 460 x 596 mm, Sheet 532 x 698 mm
A view of the remains of the so-called ‘ Temple of Serapis’ at Pozzuoli, ancient Puteoli, from Cunego’s Views of Antique Buildings and Famous Ruins in Italy. The three remaining columns of the structure are depicted at centre, with various sculptural and architectural fragments scattered about the landscape.
In the foreground, groups of well-dressed visitors, probably grand-tourists, survey the site while a group of washerwomen drape clothing over the stones. Below the title, a descriptive text in English and French reads: ‘At Puzzoli in the Kingdom of Naples. Situé a Pouzzoles dans le Royaume de Naples. ’
The Macellum, or ‘food-market,’ of Pozzuoli was constructed at some point during the late first or early second century AD, and restored by the Severan emperors a century later. The structure was lavish in design, and featured an arcaded courtyard decorated with columns of green cipollino marble.
The incorporation of a statue of Serapis, a patron deity of the Severan dynasty, was the reason for the building’s misattribution as a Temple of Serapis during the 18th century. The excavation of the ruins was carried out barely a decade before Cunego’s etching, and was of great interest in antiquarian circles. William Hamilton, British envoy to the Kingdom of Naples, and Sir John Soane, architect and antiquarian, were among its many visitors. The region’s unusual seismic and oceanic activity also made Pozzuoli a favourite in scientific circles.
Large baroque armorial watermark in laid paper. Central vertical fold, as issued. Repaired splitting to central fold. Minor creasing to margins. Old adhesive stain to bottom margin, not affecting plate.
[54085]
£1,200
06. Temple of Venus. Temple de Venus Domenico Cunego after Charles Louis Clérisseau Etching and engraving C. Clerisseau P. D. Cunego Sc. Romae [Rome, 1760-1767]
Image 438 x 572 mm, Plate 462 x 599 mm, Sheet 533 x 707 mm
A view of the remains of the so-called ‘ Temple of Venus’ at Baia, ancient Baiae on the Bay of Naples, from Cunego’s Views of Antique Buildings and Famous Ruins in Italy. The remains of the octagonal building, its dome now collapsed, sits above an arcaded substructure on the water’s edge, the shoreline roughly following the path of the modern Via Lucullo towards the medieval Castello Aragonese di Baia in the distance.
The ruins are romantically overgrown, the subject of interest for a group of well-dressed visitors to the left of the scene, probably grand-tourists, who are carried aground from a rowboat. A young woman, barefoot, hitches up her dress amongst the reeds, while another uses a stick to drive a small herd of goats towards a man on a donkey, who gestures to a third. Below the title, a descriptive text in English and French reads: ‘In the Kingdom of Naples upon the Coast of Baia the Fortress of which is seen on the Left. Dans le Royaume de Naples sur la Côte de Baia dont on voit a gauche la Forteresse. ’
The ‘ Temple of Venus’ at Baiae is one of three domed buildings in the ruins of the ancient Roman spa town of Baiae erroneously identified as temples, the other two commonly referred to as the Temples of Diana and Mercury. In fact, all three are remnants of the same building, a colossal bath house which capitalised upon the many hot springs and thermal vents caused by the volcanic activity of the Phlegraean Fields.
The town became a favourite resort for wealthy Romans during the Late Republic, gaining a reputation for vice and debauchery which persisted into the Imperial period. The ‘ Temple of Venus’ was the largest and most important part of the baths, and if not built by the Emperor Hadrian, was almost certainly restored by him. The building, octagonal without but circular internally, reflects Hadrianic designs also found in the Emperor’s villa at Tivoli, and his reconstruction of Agrippa’s Pantheon in Rome.
The volatile volcanic activity that led to the town’s creation was also the cause of its demise, with frequent earthquakes causing great movements in the coastline and damage to the buildings. The attribution of the building to Venus may be a reflection of the discovery of the famous Aphrodite of Baiae, a second century AD Roman marble copy of the Aphrodite of Syracuse, alleged by Thomas Hope to have been discovered amongst the ruins.
Large baroque armorial watermark in laid paper. Central vertical fold, as issued. Repaired splitting to central fold. Minor creasing to margins.
[54086]
£1,200
07. Gate of Cuma. Porte de Cumes
Domenico Cunego after Charles Louis Clérisseau
Etching and engraving
C. Clerisseau P. D. Cunego Sc. Romae [Rome, 1760-1767]
Image 443 x 570 mm, Plate 467 x 599 mm, Sheet 533 x 704 mm
A view of the Arco Felice, the old gate of the city of Cumae, from Cunego’s Views of Antique Buildings and Famous Ruins in Italy. The monumental arched gateway, cut through the Monte Grillo, is shown romantically overgrown. The walkway beneath, following the ancient Via Domitiana, is heavily silted up, raising the ground level to the top of the secondary arches to either side of the opening and standing as testament to the volatile seismic disruptions caused by the volcanic activity of the Campi Flegrei.
In the foreground, groups of Neapolitan shepherds, barefooted servant girls, and lazzaroni gather, tending donkeys and flocks of sheep and goats, or carrying baskets of washing. Below the title, a descriptive text in English and French reads: ‘An Ancient City near Puzzuoli in the Kingdom of Naples vulgarly called Arco Felice. Ancienne Ville pres de Pouzzoles dans le Royaume de Naples, dite Vulgairement, l’Arco Felice. ’
The Arco Felice, or the ‘Gate of Happiness,’ is the surviving arches of a monumental entrance gate to the Roman city of Cumae, constructed under the auspices of the Emperor Domitian to better connect the city with the Roman commerical port of Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli), and linking to the crucial Via Appia through the construction of a new road named for the emperor. Constructed of brick and a concrete mixed with lightweight volcanic tufa, the gateway was originally lined with marble. The city of Cumae was one of the most powerful and important early Greek colonies in southern Italy, rising in prominence to control much of the Phlegraean Fields. The city was famous for its Temple of Apollo, seat of the Sibyl of Cumae and reputedly one of the entrances to the underworld.
Large baroque armorial watermark in laid paper. Central vertical fold, as issued. Repaired splitting to central fold. Minor creasing to margins.
[54087]
£1,000
08. Ancient Selpulchre. Ancien Tombeau
Domenico Cunego after Charles Louis Clérisseau
Etching and engraving
C. Clerisseau P. D. Cunego Sc. Romae [Rome, 1760-1767]
Image 439 x 565 mm, Plate 462 x 591 mm, Sheet 532 x 699 mm
A view of a cavernous, semi-ruined, domed Roman building, described enigmatically only as an ‘Ancient Sepulchre’ near Pozzuoli, from Cunego’s Views of Antique Buildings and Famous Ruins in Italy. The scene shows a group of barefooted and barechested labourers excavating the ruin with pickaxes and barrows.
The building’s dome is still mostly intact, though only vestiges of the original stucco decoration remain, including vaulted acanthus patterns, and what appears to be a pair of gryphons. The dome sits on two levels of niched wall, some of which has partially collapsed, offering a view of another building beyond, which somewhat resembles other Republican-era sepulchres, like the supposed ‘ Tomb of Cicero’ at Formium, or the Tomb of Caecilia Metella on the Via Appia outside Rome.
If the ruin is truly a tomb, rather than the vault of a bath house or similar, then the most likely location is amongst the ruins of the Roman era Necropolis to the north of the ancient city of Puteoli, on the modern Via Celle. Below the title, a descriptive text in English and French reads: ‘Situated at Three Miles Distance from Pozzoli in the Kingdom of Naples. Situe a Trois Milles de Pouzzoles dans le Royaume de Naples. ’
Large baroque armorial watermark in laid paper. Central vertical fold, as issued. Repaired splitting and some thinning to central fold. Minor creasing to margins.
[54088]
£950
09. Tomb of Virgil. Tombeau de Virgile
Domenico Cunego after Charles Louis Clérisseau
Etching and engraving
C. Clerisseau P. D. Cunego Sc. Romae [Rome, 1760-1767]
Image 438 x 572 mm, Plate 462 x 593 mm, Sheet 532 x 704 mm
A view of the so-called ‘ Tomb of Virgil’ in Posillipo, on the outskirts of Naples, from Cunego’s Views of Antique Buildings and Famous Ruins in Italy. The scene shows a group of welldressed milordi visiting the ruins of a large, semi-ruinous, conical burial tower. In the distance, the dome and tower of a church, most likely the Chiesa di Santa Maria di Piedigrotta, can be seen.
To the right of the scene, a barefooted agrarian climbs down a monumental staircase descending into the grotto, past a peasant woman feeding her infant. Below the title, a descriptive text in English and French reads: ‘Placed over the Entrance of the Grotto of Posilippo on the Side Next the City of Naples. Placé sur l’Entrée de la Grotte de Posilippe du Côté de la Ville de Naples. ’
The Tomb of Virgil is a Roman era vaulted sepulchre next to the entrance to the Crypta Neapolitana, an ancient road tunnel constructed at the behest of Agrippa to better connect Neapolis with the ports of Puteoli and Cumae, as a form of protection against the superior naval strength of Sextus Pompey. The ashes of Virgil, the Augustan era’s greatest poet, were conveyed to his Neapolitan villa after his death in 19 BC. Whether the building now referred to as such was actually used as a burial place for his ashes is a subject of debate, but certainly by late antiquity, it had become a popular destination for admirers, including, allegedly, Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio.
Large baroque armorial watermark in laid paper. Central vertical fold, as issued. Repaired splitting and some thinning to central fold. Minor creasing to margins.
[54089]
£950
10. Caricatura Napoletana nell’ultimo giorno di Carnevale, Chiamata la morte di Carnevale [Anonymous]
Gouache
[Naples, c.1830]
Sheet 273 x 366 mm
An entertaining piece of nineteenth century Neapolitan folk art in gouache, depicting the so-called ‘Death of Carnevale’ procession celebrated on the last day of Carnival each year. The procession is composed of stock characters from the commedia dell’arte, the majority of which are in the costume of most famous stock character of Neapolitan commedia, Pulcinella, who represents the plebeian class of Naples society.
Each wears the standard costume of loose fitting white frock and trousers, girdled by a rope, and a high conical white felt hat and big-nosed black mark. Some carry horns and cowbells, traditionally seen as protective amulets for warding off the evil eye.
At centre, one of their fellows lies dead upon a cart. Some local traditions maintain the story that he has comedically choked to death on a meatball at the climax of a rolling calendar of feasts and debauches during the lead-up to Lent.
His fellows pull the cart, hung with pots and pans, through the streets, waving branches, blowing horns and shells, and stuffing themselves with anchovies. At the front of the cart, the Dottore in his spectacles and frock coat observes the corpse, while a serving girl lifts another of the revellers on her back. From the terrace of a nearby building, a group of elegantly dressed spectators watch the procession, with the Bay of Naples visible beyond.
The scene is captioned below in an old hand in sepia ink, and features a further note on the verso in pencil in an old hand reading ‘Scherzo che si fa nel Carnevale della Morte del medesimo’ - ‘A joke that is played at Carnival of the Death of the same.’
Small puncture to right margin. Minor creasing and surface abrasion to sheet.
[54040]
£300
Four Views of Venice, collected by an English Grand Tourist.
‘Il Gran Teatro delle Piu Insigni
Prospettive di Venezia’ was a collection of views (’vedute’) of Venice’s public areas, churches, buildings, and noble residences, published by Domenico Louisa as a celebration of Venetian life and architecture, and a grand gesture of the publisher’s civic pride.
Originally conceived of as a collection of one hundred views, with a second volume of one hundred works by Venetian artists, the final published editions contained sixty-five vedute, and fifty-seven engravings after paintings. Although some of the plates in the series are signed by the engravers, most are unsigned, though Mariette believed the vast majority to have been the work of Andrea Zucchi, with the assistance of his younger brother Carlo. The series was very popular with grand tourists.
The following examples were collected, along with many other prints and drawings, by Samuel Sandys (16951770), later 1st Baron Sandys, during a Grand Tour he undertook after leaving New College in 1715.
11. Veduta della Piazetta di S. Marco
Domenico Louisa
Copper engraving
Per il Louisa a Rialto in Venezia. [Venice, c.1720]
Image 354 x 489 mm, Plate 363 x 493 mm, Sheet 511 x 706 mm
A grand early eighteenth century view of the iconic Piazzetta of St Mark’s in Venice, the fifth plate of Domenico Louisa’s Il gran Teatro di Venezia. The veduta, most likely engraved by Andrea Zucchi, is taken from the Riva degli Schiavoni, just outside the Palazzo Ducale, looking west towards the iconic columns of St Mark that stand on the waterfront of the Grand Canal.
The scene is a hive of activity, providing glimpses of Venetian daily life. In the foreground, a group of men brawl, while a pack of street dogs chase a boy. A pack of Venetian nobles are gathered to the right, paying their respects to each other or soliciting patronage. A turbaned man below one of the columns is probably a Turk, testament to the city’s continuing position as a mercantile hub.
On the water, gondoliers gesture to each other, barges offload their goods, and to the left, a fusta, one of the Venetian navy’s iconic war galleys, is moored. Below the image, an alphanumeric key lists the following points of interest: ‘A. le Due Colonne. B. La Madonna della Salute, C. la Fusta che guarda il Broglio. D. Principia del Broglio. E. Dogana di Mare. F. la Giudecca. G. la Zecca. ’
Central vertical fold. Minor abrasion, creasing, and time toning to margins.
[54092]
£500
12. Veduta dell’ Isola di Rialto col Famoso Ponte
Filippo Vasconi after Domenico Louisa Copper engraving
Philippus Vasconus Cives Romanus sculpsit. [Venice, c.1720]
Image 349 x 485 mm, Plate 366 x 502 mm, Sheet 511 x 704 mm
A grand early eighteenth century view of the iconic Rialto Bridge in Venice, the thirty-eighth plate of Domenico Louisa’s Il gran Teatro di Venezia. The veduta, engraved by Filippo Vasconi, is taken from a bend on the Grand Canal near the Rio del Fontego dei Tedeschi, looking south towards the famous bridge. The waters are alive with boat traffic. Gondoliers ferry guests of all stations amongst barges filled with barrels, crates, and hay.
Below the image, an alphanumeric key lists the following points of interest: ‘A. Ponte singolare di Rialto. B. Le 24 Botteghe sopra il detto Ponte. C. Traghetto detto del Buso. D. Palazzo de Camerlenghi. E. Le Prigioni. F. La Piazzetta dell’ erbaria. G. Il Canal detto Grande. I. Volta del detto Canale. L. Le Fabriche nuove ’
Central vertical fold. Minor abrasion, creasing, and time toning to margins and central fold. Small ink stain to skyline of central fold. [54093]
£500
13. Veduta della Facciata della Chiesa di S. Eustachio
sopra il Canal Grande di Venetia
Domenico Louisa
Copper engraving
Per Domenico Louisa in Rialto [Venice, c.1720]
Image 360 x 469 mm, Plate 365 x 478 mm, Sheet 507 x 704 mm
A grand early eighteenth century view of the facade of the Church of San Stae in Venice, the forty-sixth plate of Domenico Louisa’s Il gran Teatro di Venezia. The veduta, most likely engraved by Andrea Zucchi, shows the new facade of the Church, completed a decade before the publication of Louisa’s view. The Church stands on a piazza overlooking the Grand Canal on its northernmost run through the famous city. Founded in the 11th century and dedicated to Saint Eustace (’San ‘Stae’), it was heavily remodelled in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries to a baroque design by Domenico Rossi.
In the foreground, two noble women, veiled and carrying muffs, are helped aboard a gondola. Below the image, an alphanumeric key lists the following points of interest: ‘A. Palazzo del’ N.N.H.H. Foscarini. B. Scola dell’Arte delli Tira, e Batti Oro. C. Palazzo del N.H. Francesco Priuli ’
Unread watermark in laid paper. Central vertical fold. Minor abrasion, creasing, and time toning to margins and central fold.
[54095]
£400
14. Veduta del Canal Grande dirimpetto la Pescaria di Rialto
Domenico Louisa
Copper engraving
Per Domenico Louisa in Rialto [Venice, c.1720]
Image 333 x 467 mm, Plate 343 x 472 mm, Sheet 510 x 704 mm
A grand early eighteenth century view of an acrobatic display on the Grand Canal in Venice, the thirty-seventh plate of Domenico Louisa’s Il gran Teatro di Venezia. The veduta, most likely engraved by Andrea Zucchi, shows the Grand Canal from the piazza of the Rialto fish-market.
In the centre of the scene is depicted one of Venice’s most interesting traditions, the Forza d’Ercole, a literally Herculean display of acrobatic skill and strength. Human pyramids of this type were created by rival factions, the Castellani and Nicolotti, from the east and west of the city respectively. The Rialto, as the centre of La Serenissima, was neutral ground.
What makes the current example particularly spectacular is the choice to construct the pyramid on what appears to be a floating pontoon in the centre of the Canal. Crowds of gondoliers surround the acrobats, and spectators pack the colonnade and balconies of the Palazzo Michiel dalle Colonne beyond.
The smaller building to the right of the arcaded palazzo would later become the home of the British consul and art broker Joseph Smith, agent for Canaletto. Below the image, an alphanumeric key lists the following points of interest: ‘A. Palazzo del N.H. Kr. Michiel abitato da S.A. Reale Il Signr. Prinpe. Federico Augusto Ellettorale di Sassonia &. B. Palazzo del N.H. Michiel. C. Campanile della Chiesa de SS. Apostoli. D. Locanda all’inssegna del Leon bianco. E. Fabriche pubbliche di Rialto ’
Unread watermark in laid paper. Central vertical fold. Minor abrasion, creasing, and time toning to margins and central fold.
[54097]
£400
15. The West View of the Tower of London Samuel and Nathaniel Buck Copper engraving
Saml. & Nathl. Buck del: & Sculp: Publisht according to Act of Parliament March 25th 1737 [London, c.1808]
Image 183 x 350 mm, Plate 188 x 366 mm, Sheet 270 x 433 mm
A view of the Tower of London, looking west across the castle, Plate 183 of Buck’s Antiquities or Venerable Remains of above four hundred Castles, Monasteries, Palaces, etc. etc., in England and Wales, Robert Sayer’s 1774 edition of the collected plates of antiquities by the Buck brothers. This particular example seems to derive from an early nineteenth century printing.
The view, looking over the moat and outer walls, shows the White Tower just off centre, with the Jewel House to the left. The moat is still connected to the Thames, to the right of the scene and busy with boat traffic.
Below the image, a lengthy descriptive inscription reads: ‘This noble Building besides being famous as a Citadel of Defence, is remarkable for being the chief Repository of the Kingdom for all manner of Arms, which are here disposed in convenient Rooms in elegant & beautiful Order. Here also is the grand Magazine for warlike Stores of all Kinds. Here are kept the Kings Regalia, and all the ancient Records of the Kingdom.
Here too is the Mint for coining Money, with all manner of Utensils, & Conveniences, for the proper Officers thereunto belonging; and this is the chief Prison for State Criminals. As those Uses have been long made of this Place the Government of it has generally been commited by our Princes to one of the Chief of the Nobility, who has under him a Lieutenant-Governor, Deputy-Governor, and other proper Officers ’
Fleur-de-lis topped crest and ‘1808’ watermark in laid paper. Dirt staining and chips to bottom right corner of sheet, not affecting plate.
[54073]
£150
16. The North View of St. Michael’s Mount, in the County of Cornwall
Samuel and Nathaniel Buck
Copper engraving
Saml. & Nathl. Buck del. et sculpt. 1734 [London, c.1810]
Image 186 x 347 mm, Plate 189 x 366 mm, Sheet 273 x 432 mm
A view of St Michael’s Mount, Cornwall from the north, Plate 29 of Buck’s Antiquities or Venerable Remains of above four hundred Castles, Monasteries, Palaces, etc. etc., in England and Wales, Robert Sayer’s 1774 edition of the collected plates of antiquities by the Buck brothers. This particular example seems to derive from an early nineteenth century printing.
The view, looking across Mount’s Bay from the coast near Marazion, shows the site as it appeared in the 1730s, with the castle prominent at the island’s mount, and the harbour and village below. Numerous ships lie at anchor in the harbour or cross the waters of the bay, and the tide is high enough to conceal the causeway, the entrance to which can be seen alongside the left seawall of the harbour.
Below the image are a dedication and explanatory text, divided by the armorial of the St. Aubyn family, which read:’To Sr. John St. Aubyn Bart. Knight of the Shire for the County of Cornwall, Proprietor of this Mount. This Prospect is most gratefully Inscrib’d by his much Oblig’d and very humble Servts. Saml. & Nathl. Buck.’ ‘This Mount, antiently call’d by the Cornish Men Cara Cows in Clowze, but antienter Dynsol, has on its top and antient Religious House. Wm. E. of Cornwall & Moriton, Nephew to Wm. ye Conqr. built ye Monastery & annex’d it as a Cell to the larger Monastery of St Michl. de
Periculo Maris in Normandy. Till K. Rd. 1ts. time ye Mount seems to have serv’d for Religion only: but Hen. de la Pomeroy of Bery Pomeroy Castle in Devonsh: having kill’d a Serjt. at Arms of yt. Ks, who was sent to take him in Custody, flew to ye Mount, surpriz’d it, expuls’d ye Monks & fortify’d ye Rocky Sides of it, Jno. Vere E. of Oxon, after ye defeat of K. Hen. 6th. at Barnetfield, came to yt Place by Shiping, disguis’d himself wth. some of his followers in Pilgrims Habits, thereby got entrance, master’d ye Garrison & seiz’d ye Place wch. he valliantly defended for a long time against ye Pomer of K. Ed. 4th. but was at last oblig’d to surrender. In ye 13th of K. H. 7th. ye Lady Catherine Gordon, Wife of Perkin Warbeck, fled here for Safety, but was soon taken Prisoner by the Ld. Doubney & brought to yt Kg. In K.Ed. 6s. time, during ye Cornish Commotion ye Place was taken & plund’red by ye Rebels. In the later Civil Wars K. Ch. 1st. confin’d Duke Hamilton here, but ye Parliamt. Forces besieg’d it, took it & releas’d ye Duke. About 150 Yrs ago, as they were digging at ye bottom of ye Mountain for Tin, they met wth. Spear Heads, Axes, & Swords of Brass, all wrap’d up in Linnen. As ye Sea flows or ebbs, it is alternately either Island, or join’d to ye Main Land by a large Beach of Sand and Pebbles. The present worth Possessor of it hath built at ye foot of the Mount, a Noble & Capacious Peer, or Mole, where a great Number of Ships, may in all Safety, be laid up, Clean’d and Refited ’
Unread watermark in laid paper. Minor time toning to edges of sheet.
[54075]
£125
NATURAL HISTORY
17. Cedrus foliis rigidis acuminatis non deciduis, conis subrotundis erectis
Johann Jakob Haid after Georg Dionysius Ehret Copper engraving with original hand colouring [Nuremberg, c.1760]
Image 433 x 275 mm, Plate 442 x 282 mm, Sheet 503 x 337 mm
A beautiful eighteenth century botanical illustration of a Cedar of Lebanon, presented in original full hand colour and featuring a gilded title, from Decuria VI of the serialised Plantae Selectae. The plate shows a mature tree, along with multiple details of the species’ leaf structure, cones, and seeds.
The text that once accompanied the plate describes how Trew, the editor and principal writer of the Plantae Selectae, asked Ehret to produce an illustration of the whole tree, which by the time of publication had become such an abundant and popular feature in English gardens, having been propagated from examples brought from Mount Lebanon.
The Plantae Selectae was a series of plates and accompanying commentaries of some of the most interesting botanical specimens to have been found in the gardens and parks of London, compiled by the German botanist and solicitor Christoph Trew, with engraved and hand coloured plates prepared by Haid after drawings by Georg Dionysius Ehret. Published in parts, called ‘decuria’ by the publishers though sometimes containing more or fewer than ten plates per part, the series was begun in 1750, continuing beyond Trews death in 1769, with the final part published in 1773.
Water stains to margins, not affecting plate. Some puckering of paper along right plate mark. Old adhesive staining on verso.
[54022]
£575
Aldrovandi’s Ornithologiae
The Ornithologiae, Hoc Est De Avibus Historiae Libri XII was the first part of Aldrovandi’s intended Theatrum of natural history. Aldrovandi’s work owed a great debt of gratitude to the Historia Animalium of Conrad Gessner, first published in Zurich in the 1550s.
Gessner’s work, itself modelled on Aristotle, marked the shift from the fabulae of medieval bestiaries to a Renaissance model that championed observation and empiricism, making the book (and its various abrigements and translations) the most widely disseminated work of natural historical and philosophical interest of its day. In addition to borrowing from Gessner’s commentaries, Aldrovandi also made liberal use of the many illustrative woodcuts which accompanied his text.
On an artistic level, it would be easy to dismiss the Ornithologiae as a straight plagiarism, but it is difficult to overstate its scientific importance. Where Gessner had arranged animals alphabetically, Aldrovandi took an approach which can be seen as one of the seminal examples of early-modern taxonomy, arranging the birds of the Ornithologiae in terms which would have been familiar to Pliny, Aelian, and, particularly, Aristotle. The first volume was devoted to birds of prey, those whom Aldrovandi saw as having the most dignitas. Second came prey-birds or ‘dustbathers. ’ The final volume described water birds.
Such an approach, though couched deliberately in a manner which flattered the primacy of the Habsburg eagle, was really an examination of the anatomy, diet, habits, and historical and cultural significance of Aldrovandi’s subjects.
18. [Accipiter Palumbarius]
Ulisse Aldrovandi
Woodcut with hand colouring [Bononiae Apud Franciscum de Franciscis Senentem MDXCIX Superiorum Permissu] [Bologna, 1599]
Image 273 x 178 mm, Sheet 358 x 242 mm
A late sixteenth century woodcut illustration of a bird of prey, from Ulisse Aldrovandi’s Ornithologiae, Hoc Est De Avibus Historiae Libri XII, one of the most significant and beautiful illustrated early printed treatises on birds.
This particular specimen, referred to by Aldrovandi in his explanatory text as ‘Accipter Palumbarius’ (Pigeon Hawk), is most likely a representation of a Eurasian goshawk. The bird is shown perched on a tree branch, with part of a prey bird, probably a collared dove, in its beak.
Latin letterpress explanatory text on verso. Some time toning and foxing to sheet. Old adhesive framing tape to verso. [54079]
£250
19. [Falco Lanarius]
Ulisse Aldrovandi
Woodcut with hand colouring [Bononiae Apud Franciscum de Franciscis Senentem MDXCIX Superiorum Permissu] [Bologna, 1599]
Image 254 x 154 mm, Sheet 358 x 242 mm
A late sixteenth century woodcut illustration of a bird of prey, from Ulisse Aldrovandi’s Ornithologiae, Hoc Est De Avibus
Historiae Libri XII, one of the most significant and beautiful illustrated early printed treatises on birds.
This particular specimen, referred to by Aldrovandi in his explanatory text as ‘Lanarius’, is most likely a representation of a Lanner falcon. The naming of the bird is the subject of great discussion in Aldrovandi’s text. Firstly, he states that there is much discussion of whether it is rightly a ‘falco’ (falcon), an ‘accipiter’ (hawk), or even a ‘buteo’ (buzzard). Secondly there is the etymology of the common name ‘Lanarius,’ which may derive from the verb ‘lanio’ - to tear, or from ‘lana’ in reference to its wooly or downy feathers, or even a suggestion that the word is onomatopoeic for the bird’s call.
The bird is shown on the ground, with a small prey-bird clutched in its left claw. On the verso, another uncoloured bird of prey is shown.
Minor chips and binders holes to left edge of sheet. Old adhesive framing tape to verso.
[54080]
£250
20. [Buteo]
Ulisse Aldrovandi Woodcut with hand colouring [Bononiae Apud Franciscum de Franciscis Senentem MDXCIX Superiorum Permissu] [Bologna, 1599] Image 289 x 172 mm, Sheet 357 x 241 mm
A late sixteenth century woodcut illustration of a bird of prey, from Ulisse Aldrovandi’s Ornithologiae, Hoc Est De Avibus Historiae Libri XII, one of the most significant and beautiful illustrated early printed treatises on birds.
This particular specimen, referred to by Aldrovandi in his explanatory text as ‘Buteo’, most likely a representation of the common buzzard. The bird is shown resting on the ground.
Latin letterpress expanatory text on verso. Minor foxing and water staining to edges of sheet. Old adhesive framing tape to verso.
[54081]
£250
21. [Strix]
Ulisse Aldrovandi
Woodcut with hand colouring
[Bononiae Apud Franciscum de Franciscis Senentem MDXCIX Superiorum Permissu] [Bologna, 1599]
Image 258 x 164 mm, Sheet 358 x 239 mm
A late sixteenth century woodcut illustration of an owl, from Ulisse Aldrovandi’s Ornithologiae, Hoc Est De Avibus Historiae Libri XII, one of the most significant and beautiful illustrated early printed treatises on birds.
This particular specimen, referred to by Aldrovandi in his explanatory text as ‘Strix’, is most likely a representation of the tawny owl.
In classical myth, the strix was a bird of ill-omen, its high pitched noctural scream giving it a bloodthirsty reputation which survives in many modern European words relating to vampires and witches. The bird is shown perched on rocky ground, with a rodent in its right claw.
Latin letterpress expanatory text on verso. Minor staining and time toning to edges of sheet. Old adhesive framing tape to verso.
[54082]
£275
22. I. Rosa Sylvestris odorata incarnato flore. II. Rosa Sylvestris flore rubro. III. Rosa Milesia rubra flore simpl. IV. Rosa Eglenteria.
Basilius Besler
Copper engraving with hand colouring [Nuremberg, c.1640]
Image 455 x 380 mm, Plate 465 x 390 mm, Sheet 533 x 415 mm
A beautifully hand-coloured depiction of roses from the ‘Spring Plants of the First, Second, and Third Categories’ part of Besler’s landmark ‘Hortus Eystettensis’. The plate shows four varieties of rose, including dog rose and sweet briar. This particular example, lacking text on the verso, is from the rare 1640 second printing of Besler’s book.
Where as previous botanical art had placed an emphasis only on medical or culinary herbs, often crudely executed, Besler’s ‘Hortus Eystettensis’ depicted 1084 species including garden flowers, herbs and vegetables and exotic plants such as castor-oil and arum lilies. These were modern in concept and produced near life size in great detail.
The work generally reflected the four seasons, showing first the flowering and then the fruiting stages. “Winter” was sparsely represented with a mere 7 plates. “Spring” was a season of abundance with 134 plates illustrating 454 plants and “Summer” in full swing showed 505 plants on 184 plates. “Autumn” closed off the work with 42 plates and 98 species.
First published in 1613, two versions were produced, cheap black and white for use as a reference book, and a luxury version without text, printed on quality paper and lavishly hand-coloured. The work was published twice more in Nuremberg in 1640 and 1713. The plates were eventually destroyed by the Royal Mint of Munich in 1817.
Tape residue to top corners and to verso top corners. Some minor creasing to sheet. Framed in an antique-style brown and gilt frame.
[53748]
£3,000
23. I. Pseudo Narcissus pallidus calice amplo. II. Pseudo Narcissus simplex Belgae. III. Pseudo Narcissus aureus praecox.
Basilius Besler
Copper engraving with hand colouring [Nuremberg, c.1640]
Image 468 x 390 mm, Plate 475 x 399 mm, Sheet 530 x 418 mm
A beautifully hand-coloured depiction of daffodils, Plate 55 from the ‘Spring Plants of the First, Second, and Third Categories’ part of Besler’s landmark ‘Hortus Eystettensis’. The plate shows three different cultivars. This particular example, lacking text on the verso, is from the rare 1640 second printing of Besler’s book.
Central horizontal printer’s crease. Minor time toning and foxing to margins. Old mounting adhesive tape to margins on verso.
[53938]
£1,750
24. I. Aquilegia stellata flore purpureo. II. Aquilegia flore albo pleno. III. Aquilegia flore caeruleo pleno. Basilius Besler
Copper engraving with hand colouring [1613-1713]
Image 475 x 391 mm, Plate 481 x 406 mm, Sheet 541 x 418 mm
A beautifully hand-coloured depiction of columbines, Plate 172 from the ‘Summer Plants of the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Categories’ part of Besler’s landmark ‘Hortus Eystettensis’ The plate shows three different cultivars. This particular example features verso letterpress text in Latin, with German translations in blackletter.
Time toning to plate. Large repaired tear to bottom left of plate. Tabs of old framers tape to verso.
[54019]
£900
FINE PRINTS & MEZZOTINTS
25. The Fall of Nineveh John Martin Etching and mezzotint
J. Martin 1829. Painted & Engraved by John Martin. Printed by S.H. Hawkins. London. Published July 1, 1830 by Mr. Martin, 30, Allsops Terrace, New Road.
Image 538 x 810 mm, Sheet 624 x 848 mm
A lettered proof impression of Martin’s colossal and iconic illustration of the Fall of Nineveh, engraved by the artist after his oil painting of the same name. Nineveh was the capital of ancient Assyria and its downfall was graphically prophesised in the Book of Nahum. The Fall, of which Martin’s print conveys, came in 612 BC when the colossal city was overrun by the armies of Media and Babylon. Scripture tells the story of Sardanapalus, the last Assyrian King, who chose to burn himself and his possessions instead of risking capture from the rebellious generals.
In Martin’s work, Sardanapalus is surrounded by his concubines whilst the enemy forces threaten in the foreground and stream through his defences in the distance. With his raised right hand he gestures towards the colossal funeral pyre that he has had erected so that he and all of his slaves and lovers can be destroyed. Martin’s presentation of the last moments of the great city was inspired by a blank verse poem on the subject written by his friend, Edwin Atherstone, which, although begun in 1828, was not fully completed until 1868.
The painting had been exhibited solo in the Western Exchange, drawing at its opening a crowd of over two thousand, composed of many of the leading connoisseurs, artists, and Royal Academicians of the day, including Thomas Lawrence, Walter Scott, and the Earl Grey.
The production of the print was Martin’s most involved undertaking to date. At the time of publication, the steel printing plate was the largest yet produced, and Martin’s etched outline so extensive that he issued etched proofs to the public, alongside the completed lettered and unlettered examples after the addition of mezzotint.
The inscription in open letters below the image reads: “The Fall of Nineveh, Dedicated to His Most Christian Majesty Charles X, King of France & Navarre, &c. &c. &c. as a Humble Tribute of the Artist’s Grateful Feeling for the High Honor His Most Christian Majesty has been Graciously Pleased to Confer Upon Him. John Martin.”
CW 82; Campbell, Visionary Printmaker, p. 102.
Trimmed within plate, without loss to image or inscription. Central horizontal crease. Repaired tears to edges of sheet. Foxing to margins. Light surface abrasion to image.
[53975]
£1,750
26. [II. The Man on the Rack]
Giovanni Battista Piranesi Etching
Presso l’Autore a Strada Felice vicino alla Trinita de’ Monti. Fogli Sedici, al prezzo di paoli venti. Piranesi F. [Rome, c.1775-Paris, c.1835]
Image 558 x 413 mm, Plate 565 x 418 mm, Sheet 584 x 438 mm
One of two new plates created by Piranesi for his second, and drastically reworked, edition of the famous Carceri d’invenzione. Like the rest of the plates in the series, this example was left enigmatically untitled, and as such, is usually referred to as ‘The Man on the Rack’ for the unfortunate figure in the centre foreground.
The scene shows a cavernous and apparently partially subterranean torture chamber below a vaulted ceiling, colonnade, or bridge. The central figure is tied bodily to fragments of classical architecture, while a thong around his ankles is roped to a large wooden racking wheel tightened by a figure in a short toga. Another figure at centre, wearing a cloth cap, holds aloft a large pin or nail in his right hand. A large crowd has gathered on a ledge beyond, above a series of colossal classical portrait reliefs and tabulae ansatae bearing latin inscriptions. On a scaffold to the right, another group of spectators jeer at the unfortunates below.
The 16 plates of the Carceri d’invenzione (’Imaginary Prisons’) are amongst Piranesi’s earliest major works, and represent the zenith of his architectural imagination. A series of fanciful images of prisons, the Carceri were first issued by Bouchard in 1750. Although dwarfed in popularity by Piranesi’s later views of Rome, the Carceri are widely seen as Piranesi’s most innovative and characteristic contributions to etching.
Composed of monumental architectural features and nightmarish instruments of physical and psychological torture, the Carceri have had a profound effect on Piranesi’s various admirers. Chief amongst these was Thomas de Quincey, the British author and self-confessed opium addict, who describes at length the powerful and feverish impact the Carceri had upon him and his fellow poet Coleridge. Hind 2. i/ii, Robison 43 v/vi, Wilton-Ely 27, F25, C350.
Central horizontal folds. Minor splitting to folds, now professionally repaired. Small chips and pinholes to margins, not affecting plate.
[53950]
£3,500
27. The Norns Watering the Tree of Life
William Bell Scott
Etching 1876
Image 245 x 165 mm, Plate 262 x 203 mm, Sheet 368 x 265 mm
An etching of William Bell Scott’s painting of The Norns Watering the Tree of Life, done to illustrate a poem of the same title he had written and published in The Athenaeum in 1876.
The image demonstrates Bell Scott’s fascination with Norse mythology. In this print the Norns, the three goddesses Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld who represent the Past, Present, and Future, are watering Yggdrasill, the world tree, ensuring its survival. Here the women walk amongst the branches, swans by their sides, Odin’s ravens Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory) in the tree, and sun or moon in the distance.
Signed in the plate.
Time toning to sheet. [53958]
£350
28. The Right Honble. Lady Louisa Manners
Charles Knight after Sir Joshua Reynolds
Etching and stipple
Publish’d Jany. 21.1800 by Anthy. Molteno. Printseller to her Royal Highness the Dutchess of York. No.29 Pall Mall London.
Image 472 x 267 mm, Plate 493 x 289 mm, Sheet 555 x 352 mm
A large full-length portrait of Lady Louisa Manners, engraved by Knight after the portrait in oil by Reynolds. Lady Louisa stands slightly to her right, her right arm resting on a classical plinth draped with fabric. She wears a gown and sash, and her hair is tied up with strings of pearls. Behind, an Italianate landscape can be seen.
Lady Louisa Manners Tollemache, 7th Countess of Dysart (1745-1840) was a wealthy heiress of the Tollemache family, and a peeress. In 1765, she eloped with John Manners, MP for Newark. One of the beauties of her age, and a patron of John Constable, she was the subject of a number of portraits, both painted and engraved, by artists including Reynolds, Hoppner, Valentine Green, Sir Thomas Lawrence, and Constable.
O’Donoghue 4
Watermark ‘J Whatman 1794’ in wove paper. Light toning to margins from old mount.
[54038]
£300
29. [Caroline Duchess of Marlborough with Lady Caroline Spencer her Daughter] James Watson after Sir Joshua Reynolds Mezzotint
J. Reynolds pinxt. J. Watson Fecit. [Published by J. Watson in Queen Ann’s Street, & J. Boydell Engraver in Cheapside May 20th, 1768.]
Image 445 x 326 mm, Plate 452 x 328 mm, Sheet 483 x 358 mm
A proof before letters, but with scratched attributions, of Watson’s mezzotint after Reynolds’ evocative portrait of Caroline, Duchess of Marlborough, holding her infant daughter Lady Caroline Spencer.
The Duchess is shown seated to the left in an open backed chair, three quarter length, with her head turned to face the viewer. She wears a long-sleeved, loose-fitting gown tied with a sash, and has a large bolt of cloth draped over her lap. In her outstretched arms, she holds her child around her waist, lifting her up to stand on her lap. The infant Caroline wears a light dress, and a string of pearls around her neck. She sits in a colonnaded portico with a lakeside landscape, possibly the famous grounds of Blenheim Palace, beyond. At the time of printing, the garden’s redevelopment to a design by Capability Brown had only recently been completed.
Caroline Spencer, Duchess of Marlborough (1743-1811), born Lady Caroline Russell, was a English peeress, supposedly declared by Queen Charlotte the ‘proudest woman in England.’ The daughter of the 4th Duke of Bedford, she married George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough in 1762.
Caroline was the subject of three separate portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds, two of which, a portrait of her with the infant Caroline, and a family portrait with her husband and children, were commissioned for the collection at Blenheim Palace, shortly after the grounds of the Palace had been redesigned by Capability Brown.
O’Donoghue 3, Chaloner Smith 99 i/ii
Watermark bunch of grapes in oval with ‘T. Dupuy Fin. Auvergne 1748’ in laid paper. Surface slightly rubbed. Some foxing and surface staining to left of image. [54039]
£400
CARICATURES & SATIRES
30. Pacific-Overtures,_or_a Flight from St. Clouds_”over the Water to Charley,”_ a new Dramatic Peace now Rehearsing
James Gillray
Etching with original hand colouring Js. Gillray fect. Pubd. April 5th. 1806, by H.Humphrey St. James’s Street [London, 1806] Sheet 297 x 384 mm
A satirical stage play, performed in mockery of the attempts at peace with France offered by the Ministry of All the Talents after the death of William Pitt, during the War of the Third Coalition. Pitt’s death in February, leaving the nation without clear governmental leadership during the ongoing war with Napoleon led to the formation of a national unity government under William Grenville, including, to the surprise of many, Charles James Fox, Pitt’s longtime opponent and the bête noir of King George III.
The intended peace, like the Ministry itself for the most part, was ultimately a failure. Gillray presents the peace in the manner of a stage show, with Napoleon at centre, diminutive in stature, wearing a plumed bicorn and with unsheathed sabre, arriving deus ex machina on a cloud. With his left hand, he gestures behind him at a long list, arrogantly declaring “There’s my Term’s.” The list of peace terms, held up by a sneering Tallyrand in bishop’s garb and with a quill pen behind one ear, reads as nothing less than complete and abject surrender: “Acknowledge me as Emperor. Dismantle your Fleet. Reduce your Army_, Abandon Malta & Gibraltar, Renounce all Continental Connection. Your Colonies I will take at a Valuation. Engage to pay to the Great Nation for 7 Years annually £1.000.000, and place in my Hands as Hostages the Princess Charlotte of Wales, with Ten of ye late Administration whom I shall name._”
The Protagonist, King George, stands to the left of the stage beside an anchor, in uniform and with his sword on his right shoulder, peering through an opera glass at the new arrival, while responding indignantly: “_Very amusing Terms indeed!_and might do vastly well with some of the new-made little Gingerbread Kings_but WE are not in the habit of giving up either “Ships, or Commerce, or Colonies”- merely because little Boney is in a pet to have them!!!”
Behind the King is the likeness of the recently deceased Pitt, standing atop a pillar inscribed with the motto of the Pitt medal “Non sibi sed Patriae vixit” - he lived not for himself but for his Fatherland. The King has clearly leapt forth from the Royal box behind him, the curtain above which is blazoned with “Ge. IIId. whom God long preserve” below a pillow bearing a crown, a sword, and a sceptre. On the right of the scene are Napoleon’s entourage. A trio of cadaverous French Grenadiers carry eagles for the Armies of England, Ireland, and Scotland prepared for invasion. Tallyrand perches on a huge cornucopia, from which tumbles a slew of payments to French agents and propagandists.
Chief amongst them is Arthur O’Connor, the United Irishman, who looks down at Fox in the orchestra Pitt with the exhortation: “Remember my Friend your Oath. - “Our Politicks are the Same.” In the boxes behind are a motley assortment, including Francis Burdett and John Horne Tooke, shouting “Bravo” and “Bravissimo” at the French demands, and below them the Prince of Wales and his lover Mrs Fitzherbert, who clutch an advertisement for another upcoming performance, a farce entitled “Dolly made a Dutchess.”
The performance is augmented by musical accompaniment provided by the Ministry of All the Talents in the orchestra below the stage. The chaos and confusion of competing interests in the Ministry is here expressed by the way each musician performs a different tune. First violin is played by Grenville, attempting to call the orchestra to attention and beginning the opening strains of “Britons strike home.” Fox, to his left, attempts to pay tribute to the magnanimity of the monarch in agreeing to his seat at the table by attempting ‘God save the King’ after an extended flourish to look across at O’Connor. Among others, Sheridan scowls in the corner, abandoning his bassoon, Sidmouth blows on a clyster-pipe, and Tierney, eager for any position, clutches an aulos labelled with the names of Grenville and Fox, quite literally playing both sides.
BM Satires 10549.
Trimmed inside platemark to greywash border, without loss to image or inscription. On verso, minor adhesive staining to corners from tipping to album page.
[53977]
£1,800
31. The Daily-Advertiser
James Gillray
Etching with original hand colouring
Js. Gy. d. et ft. Pubd. Jany. 23d 1797, by H. Humphrey New Bond Street [London, 1797]
Image 359 x 256 mm, Plate 362 x 260 mm, Sheet 375 x 269 mm
A rough visual paraphrasing of a speech made in the House of Commons on the 30th of December 1796 by Henry Dundas, at that time Secretary of War, in which he answered Charles James Fox’s criticisms of the handling of the War in France by characterising his opponent as a strident paper-boy.
Fox, wearing a tattered uniform, broken sandals, and a Phrygian cap pinned with a ‘Daily Advertiser’ tricolor, knocks on the doors of the Treasury, advertising “Bloody News! Bloody News! Bloody News!!! glorious bloody News, for old England! Bloody News! Traitrous Taxes! Swindling Loans! Murd’ring Militia’s! Ministerail Invasions! Ruin to all Europe! alarmingbloody-News! Bloody-News!!!”
The knocker is held in the teeth of a gorgon in the pinchedface likeness of Pitt. From above the barbed gates, a reply erupts from the Treasury “Lord! Fellow! pray don’t keep such a Knocking & Bawling there; we never take in any Jacobin-papers here! & never open the doors for any, but such as can be trusted: True Briton’s & such!”
On the wall beside the doorway, an advertisement for a new edition of the ‘Cries of the Opposition’ has been pasted on the wall beside the doorway. Fox has tucked his herald’s trumpet through the buttonhole of his coat, and carries a copy of the ‘Paris Papers’ under his left arm.
In his left hand, he carries an unfurled copy of the Daily Advertiser listing a series of Wanted ads, most of which request sinecures, parliamentary pensions, or cushy governmental positions.
Below the scene, following the title, the context of the satire is explained in an inscription which reads: “Vide Dundas’s Speech in the House of Commons. “_for a dozen Years past, he has follow’d the business of a Daily Advertiser, daily stunning our Ears with a noise about “Plots & Ruin & Treasons & Impeachments; while the Contents of his Bloody News turns out to be, only a Daily Advertisement for a Place & a Pension.”
BM Satires 8981. Ex. Coll.: Minto Wilson.
Pinholes and paper thinning to corners, from tipping to old album page. Collectors mark in red ink to verso (Lugt L.1922a)
[53976]
£1,500
32. A Decent Story
James Gillray
Etching with original hand colouring
Pubd. Novr. 9th. 1795, by H. Humphrey, No.37 New Bond Street
Image 224 x 294 mm, Plate 245 x 344 mm, Sheet 288 x 406 mm
A simple but effective social satire by Gillray, showing a table of elderly figures enjoying a glass of port and being regaled with an entertaining tale. The speaker, a portly man in a brown coat to the right, seems as amused by his own story as his audience, a twinkle in his eye and his left hand gesturing as he hunches in his chair. To his right, and with his back to the viewer, a parson grins widely. To his left, an older women in a bonnet stares amused.
The final two members of the party are an officer in uniform and another bonneted lady, in her cups and nodding. The officer’s smile is so broad as to border on grotesque, though he seems far more amused by his port-blushed neighbour than the story itself.
BM Satires 8753
Watermark ‘1794’ in thin wove paper. Hand colouring faded. Minor foxing to margins. Old adhesive tape and residue to verso.
[54026]
£575
33. The Comforts of a Cabriolet! or, The Advantages of Driving Hoodwink’d!!_
George Cruikshank after Michael Egerton Etching
Etched by G. Cruikshank from a Drawing by ME Esqr. Pubd. by Thos. McLean, 26 Haymarket. Augt. 1st. 1835. Image 243 x 386 mm, Plate 264 x 402 mm, Sheet 272 x 432 mm
The dangers of driving fashionable French cabriolets around London burlesqued. Three horse-drawn cabs have collided in a terrible crash outside the gates of Hyde Park. Two of the three grooms have been sent flying, with the third crushed between two of the falling carts. The elegantly dressed and hapless occupants of the cabs, blinkered by the raised hoods of each, are ill prepared for the collision and are thrown in all directions.
To the left, a dandy drops his cane and topper as he is thrown forward over the horse, whose front legs have stumbled beneath it, sending it into a dive. Alongside him, his paramour’s bonnet comes loose as she too is thrown. At centre, two young Corinthians in top hats also tumble out, as the axle of their cab snaps and their poor horse is impaled by the shaft of the carriage to the right. A street dog, perhaps the cause of the initial accident, is trodden underfoot.
The final of the three carriages to the right has clearly been moving at speed, as its horse is shown in mid-somersault and the carriage looks set to flip over its length. The groom is tossed high above, and his clients, a pair of dandies, both take a hoof to the face from the stricken horse’s flailing back legs.
This plate was originally published by George Humphrey in 1821. The current example was published by Thomas McLean in 1835. Humphrey’s original inscription line, etched by Cruikshank, has here been erased and reengraved in a neater hand to list McLean’s address.
BM Satires 14309 (Thomas McLean printing)
Minor foxing, particularly to margins.
[54018]
£200
34. [The Laughing Audience]
William Hogarth
Copper engraving and etching 1733-1737. [J & J Boydell c.1790] Image 177 x 159 mm, Plate 190 x 174 mm, Sheet 196 x 175 mm
A scene of the audience at the theatre, originally produced as the subscription ticket for ‘A Rake’s Progress. ’ At the bottom of the scene, the heads of three of the musicians can be seen. Behind them, all but one of the people in the Pit are gripped by raucous laughter. Paulson suggests that the singular scowl in the otherwise jovial audience may be that of a critic.
Above the Pit, and completely disinterested in the performance, two dandies seduce a pair of women. The first puts his arm around an orange seller while her colleague tugs at his sleeve, the other advances on a lady, who recoils from him, her back against the balustrade.
This state was printed without the inscription advertising Hogarth’s Rake, though the extreme top of the first line can just be seen above the plate mark.
Paulson 130 iv/iv, BM Satires 1949
Trimmed to platemark along right edge of sheet, without loss to plate or image. Minor time toning to margins. [54024]
£250
35. Whoever makes a Design without the Knowledge of Perspective will be liable to such Absurdities as are shewn in this Frontispiece.
Luke Sullivan after William Hogarth Copper engraving and etching W. Hogarth inv. et delin. L. Sullivan Sculp. [J & J Boydell c.1800]
Image 220 x 172 mm, Plate 227 x 182 mm, Sheet 262 x 212 mm
An entertaining satire on false perspective, designed by Hogarth as the frontispiece for ‘Dr. Brook Taylor’s Method of Perspective Made Easy, both in Theory and Practice ’ The book, by Hogarth’s friend Joshua Kirby, was an attempt to popularise Taylor’s mathematical treatises on linear perspective.
The first volume, dedicated to Hogarth, featured explanatory text and plates engraved by Kirby. The frontispiece, engraved by Luke Sullivan after Hogarth’s design, shows a number of comical errors that one may commit without a thorough understanding of perspective.
These include foreshortenings, overlapping elements, and incorrect increases and decreases in size or aspect. Roof-lines of buildings defy Euclidian geometry, barrels fall into stairs, a giant bird perches on a diminutive tree, a cart and horses pass behind a tree on a bridge to nowhere, the nave of a church in the distance extends past a coastline, and a woman in an upstairs window holds a candlestick to light the pipe of a man who stands on a hill beyond. The result is a deeply comedic representation of the book’s importance, and one that invites and encourages closer investigation by the viewer.
Paulson 232 ii/ii.
Acid burn from old mount to margins, just inside platemark. Foxing to margins.
[54025]
£200
36. Harlots Progress after William Hogarth
Copper engraving
Invented & Painted by Wm. Hogarth [c.1735]
Each sheet ~255 x 365 mm
A rare and unusual complete set of six engravings plagiarising in reverse Hogarth’s famous moral satire, A Harlot’s Progress. The six copperplates for the series were prepared by Hogarth himself, after failure to find a suitable engraver, and were issued only to subscribers. Hogarth was plagued by plagiarists, with numerous copies circulating until the passing of ‘Hogarth’s Act’ by Parliament in 1735.
The current examples are clearly one of these plagiarised sets, though are unsigned, so it is difficult to say if they were produced before or after the passing of the Act. Subtitled in English and French, they have also been given an additional decorative floral element to left and right, printed from a secondary larger border plate.
Watermark fleur-de-lys in laid paper of Plate 6. Large repaired puncture to right of Plate 6. Trimmed to platemarks on all sides. Creases and folds to all sheets.
[54027]
£750
The series was the first of Hogarth’s ‘Moral Progresses,’ and, like the following ‘Rake’s Progress’ and ‘Marriage a-la-Mode’ , were a sardonic twist on the popular allegories of religious development and revelation in works like Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. The series, depicting the career of a young prostitute from initiation to untimely death, was inspired by an oil painting Hogarth had completed of a harlot in her boudoir. The original paintings were once in the collection of William Beckford Snr, politician and father of William Beckford Jnr, the connoisseur and author, but were destroyed in a fire which consumed Beckford’s Fonthill House in 1755.
Harlots Progress Plate I. Innocence betrayed, or the Journey to London. L’jnnocence trahie, ou le Voyage de Londres: The young woman, Mary (or ‘Moll’) Hackabout, arrives in Cheapside on a stagecoach from York. She has brought a goose for her cousin, who, in failing to meet Moll, leaves her open to the solicitations of the bawd, Mother Needham. In the background, the infamous rapist Francis Charteris watches the scene with interest, flanked by his pimp. To the right, a clergyman rides past, too intent on the letter he has received to save the girl from her bleak future. Although the copyist has reengraved all of the other lettering in his reversed copy, he has neglected to change the monogram on Moll’s travelling case, which here reads ‘HM’ rather than ‘MH.’
Paulson 121 (Copy), BM Satires 2031 (Copy)
Harlots Progress Plate II. In High keeping by a Jew. Un Juif L’entretien Somptueusement:
Moll, now the mistress of a wealthy Anglophile Jew, causes a distraction by kicking over a small table, allowing her young paramour to escape with the assistance of a maidservant. In the foreground, a monkey carries off Moll’s hat and a piece of lace, towards a table with a ball mask, emblematic of Moll’s false pretences.
Paulson 122 (Copy), BM Satires 2046 (Copy)
Harlots Progress Plate III. The Complete Trull at her Lodgings in Drury Lane. Elle est reduite a la Misere dans son Logement de Drury Lane:
Moll, having been thrown out by her Jewish keeper, is forced into common prostitution in a Drury Lane brothel. She rests on a bed, holding a watch that she has presumably stolen from one of her paramours, and is attended to by her syphilitic servant while a cat playfully investigates her skirts. In the background, a witches hat and broom have replaced the earlier accoutrements of the masquerade. To the left, the Bailiffs arrive for her arrest. The copyist has also altered one of the portraits in Moll’s paltry art collection. Where Hogarth’s original features a portrait of ‘Dr Sacheveral STP,’ the current example features a portrait of Polly Peachum, the lover of the highwayman Macheath in Gay’s ‘Beggar’s Opera.’
Sacheveral had died in 1724, so perhaps at the time of issue for this copy, Polly, now the titular character of a sequel by John Gay, was of more immediate relevance to the intended audience of the print, and deemed a better fit alongside Macheath. Elisha Kirkall’s mezzotint piracy of the set also features a portrait of ‘Miss Fenton,’ the actress who played Polly, in place of Sacheveral, so perhaps the copyist of the current set had worked partially from Kirkall’s copies, in addition to Hogarth’s originals.
Paulson 123 (Copy), BM Satires 2061 (Copy)
Harlots Progress Plate IV. In Bridewell beating Hemp. Dans le Maison de Correction a battre le Chanvre: Beginning to show signs of venereal disease, Moll is now incarcerated in Bridewell, forced to beat Hemp alongside a host of gamblers, whores, and wastrels. The master of the workshop threatens her with a cane, standing before a set of stocks emblazoned with the moral ‘Better to Work than Stand Thus. ’ In the foreground, her syphilitic servant hitches up her garter as another woman rids her clothing of lice.
Paulson 124 (Copy), BM Satires 2075 (Copy)
Harlots Progress Plate V. In a High Salivation at the Point of Death. Elle meurt en passant par le Grand-remede: Moll, wrapped entirely in sweating blankets, finally expires from her sickness, unobserved by the maidservant, who is busy watching the lively discussion of two quack doctors. A small boy, presumably Moll’s son, waits by the fire for his dinner, scratching at his hair, while a woman at left rifles through Moll’s belongings.
Paulson 125 (Copy), BM Satires 2091 (Copy)
Harlots Progress Plate VI. Her Funeral properly attended. Pompe de Ses Funerailles:
A small crowd attend Moll’s wake, her coffin at centre. To the right, a parson disinterestedly stares into the middle distance, spilling brandy onto his lap. Moll’s servant, melancholic, rests her glass on the coffin. Meanwhile a group of Moll’s fellow harlots feign remorse, while actually busying themselves in pick-pocketing an undertaker. Moll’s little boy, dressed in mourning clothes, is distractedly winding a spinning top below his mother’s coffin.
Paulson 126 (Copy), BM Satires 2106 (Copy)
37. Habit de Pescheur
Gerard Valck after Nicolas de Larmessin II
Copper engraving
G: Valck Ex. [Amsterdam, c.1695]
Image 278 x 186 mm, Sheet 283 x 191 mm
A fanciful and entertaining illustration of a fisherman, his clothes made up of items related to his profession, engraved and issued by Valck after a suite of designs by Nicolas de Larmessin II entitled “Les Costumes grotesques et les métiers.” The series shows the ‘habit’ or dress of each trade, with their elaborate costumes executed in a style reminiscent of the imaginative mannerist portraits of the Italian painter Arcimboldo from a century earlier.
The current example, a fisherman, is attired in a frock-coat made up of various types of fish with sleeves that are quite literally scalloped with mussels. His belt is a winding eel, his trousers made up of crabs and lobsters, and his cape a long fishing net. On his head perches a classically-styled dolphin in place of a cap, and his long hair is composed of elvers and lampreys. His sceptre is topped by a basket net, and by his feet lie the catches of his exploits, including frogs and a tortoise in addition to fish, clams, and eels. The background shows fishermen at work.
Trimmed within platemark and tipped to album page. Manuscript translation in old hand in sepia below title ‘A Fisherman. ’ [54028]
£600
38. Habit d’Orlogeur
Gerard Valck after Nicolas de Larmessin II
Copper engraving
G: Valck Ex. [Amsterdam, c.1695]
Image 275 x 185 mm, Sheet 278 x 188 mm
A fanciful and entertaining illustration of a clockmaker, his clothes made up of items related to his profession, engraved and issued by Valck after a suite of designs by Nicolas de Larmessin II entitled “Les Costumes grotesques et les métiers.” The series shows the ‘habit’ or dress of each trade, with their elaborate costumes executed in a style reminiscent of the imaginative mannerist portraits of the Italian painter Arcimboldo from a century earlier.
The current example, a clockmaker, is covered head to toe in examples of his craft. His body is enclosed in a large caseclock, with a diatonic of bells above his head in place of a hat. In his right hand he holds a carriage clock, in his left a clock mechanism upon a decorative torchere. Pocket watches hang from his sleeves, skirts, and garters, and clockmaker’s tools are suspended from his belt. Behind him, steps lead to an orangery.
Trimmed within platemark and tipped to album page. Manuscript translation in old hand in sepia below title ‘A Clock Maker.’
[54032]
£600
39. Habit de Jardinier
Gerard Valck after Nicolas de Larmessin II
Copper engraving
G; Valck. Ex. [Amsterdam, c.1695]
Image 276 x 184 mm, Sheet 278 x 186 mm
A fanciful and entertaining illustration of a gardener, his clothes made up of items related to his profession, engraved and issued by Valck after a suite of designs by Nicolas de Larmessin II entitled “Les Costumes grotesques et les métiers.” The series shows the ‘habit’ or dress of each trade, with their elaborate costumes executed in a style reminiscent of the imaginative mannerist portraits of the Italian painter Arcimboldo from a century earlier.
The current example, a gardener, is attired in a mix of both the tools and products of his trade. His torso takes the form of a planter, its sides painted with rustic scenes. His hat is a large and flourishing pomegranate bush, while his sleeves are terracotta plant pots. In his left hand he languidly holds a watering can, while his right clutches a bevy of tools, including a pair of shears, a rake, two hoes, and a long handled sickle from which are hung pruning knives and two wooden stakes or dibbers. His bottom half is a veritable cornucopia of produce, including bunches of grapes, melons, gourds, carrots, flowers, and leafy garlands. Behind him, elegantly dressed guests promenade in an expansive parterre garden.
Trimmed within platemark and tipped to album page. Manuscript translation in old hand in sepia below title ‘A Gardiner.’ [54034]
£600
40. Habit de Peintre
Gerard Valck after Nicolas de Larmessin II
Copper engraving
G. Valk Ex. Cum. Privil. [Amsterdam, c.1695]
Image 290 x 182 mm, Sheet 293 x 184 mm
A fanciful and entertaining illustration of a painter, his clothes made up of items related to his profession, engraved and issued by Valck after a suite of designs by Nicolas de Larmessin II entitled “Les Costumes grotesques et les métiers.” The series shows the ‘habit’ or dress of each trade, with their elaborate costumes executed in a style reminiscent of the imaginative mannerist portraits of the Italian painter Arcimboldo from a century earlier.
The current example, a painter, wears a large easel over his coat, a Lorrainesque landscape covering most of his torso, while a pair of oval portraits hang below. His boots are bucked by crossed pairs of paintbrushes, and a pair of fans made of more brushes and a palette are stuck in the folds of his artist’s cap. Another palette and bunch of brushes are clutched in his left hand, and he flourishes a baton in his right, with a pair of oval frames looped at his elbow. In the background is an Italianate landscape.
Trimmed within platemark and tipped to album page. Manuscript translation in old hand in sepia below title ‘A Lymner ’ [54037]
£600
GENERAL INTEREST
Four plates from one of the eighteenth centur y’s most important antiquarian works.
The Collection of Etruscan, Greek, and Roman Antiquities from the Cabinet of the Hon. Wm. Hamilton, His Britannick Majesty’s Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Court of Naples was a monumental work, documenting the first of the two major collections of predominantly Greek vases amassed by Sir William Hamilton, during his tenure as the British Envoy to the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily. The first volume, sumptuously adorned with hand-coloured plates by Morelli, was published in 1766 an edition of 500 subscriber copies, costing the princely sum of £6000 to produce. A second volume was published the following year, and eventually followed by a third and fourth.
The work caused an immediate sensation in England, even before its publication. Although works documenting the subjects of ancient vase painting had been produced before Hamilton, the Collection was the first to present ancient vase painting as being of artistic merit in its own right. Hamilton’s original intention in collection the vases, as he states in the introduction, was not due to any attempt at connoisseurship, but because he had seen the potential value of such a collection as a model for modern artists. Earlier works, while relatively thorough in describing the paintings from an antiquarian perspective, had not depicted them with the elegance and beauty of Hamilton’s publication.
The greatest artistic legacy of the Collection can be seen in the pottery of Josiah Wedgewood, who saw, as Hamilton had predicted, the ideal subject material for a new aesthetic in British pottery. The proofs shown him by Hamilton’s brother in law, Lord Cathcart, provided Wedgewood with the perfect edge on his competitors, who had to wait for the book’s publication the following year. Despite Hamilton not considering himself an antiquarian, the Collection had almost as great an impact in academic circles as it did in artistic.
The lavish illustrations were accompanied by parallel explanatory text in English and French, discussing, among other things, the origin and provenance of many of Hamilton’s vases, and providing academics across Europe with a far greater range of material than had previously been available in the debate about the origins, whether Etruscan or Greek, of black and redfigure vase-painting. The text itself, written by Hamilton’s friend, Pierre-Francois Hugues, Baron d’Hancarville, was even contributed to by no less a scholar than Johann Joachim Winckelmann, the most celebrated art-historian and Hellenist of the day.
Despite its illustrious pedigree, the sheer cost involved in the publication of the Collection pushed Hamilton to the very limit of his means, and was probably a contributing factor in his decision to sell much of this first collection to the British Museum in 1772. It was also a strain on the finances of Hamilton’s fellow-contributor, Baron d’Hancarville, who was forced to flee Naples to escape his creditors, though succeeded in restoring his fortunes somewhat with the publication of two pornographic texts on classical subjects. Regardless of the expense, the Collection continued to be held in high esteem, being reissued in various forms throughout the next century, and forming the model for Tischbein’s five volume publication of Hamilton’s second collection.
The following plates, in full original wash colour, derive from the first edition of Hamilton’s great work.
41. Plate 74 [Marriage Ceremony]
Francesco Morelli
Copper engraving with original hand colouring [Naples, Francesco Morelli, 1766]
Image 290 x 410 mm, Plate 300 x 430 mm, Plate 330 x 475 mm
A depiction of a red-figure vase painting featuring a marriage scene, Plate 74 from Volume 1 of the Collection of Etruscan, Greek, and Roman Antiquities from the Cabinet of the Hon. Wm. Hamilton, His Britannick Majesty’s Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Court of Naples
d’Hancarville’s descriptive text, believing the vase to be Etruscan rather than Greek, draws heavily upon the literary tradition for Roman marriage, though the common elements between both Greek and Roman wedding traditions mean that on the whole his attribution is likely correct.
The scene shows three central figures, a young man, a seated young woman, and another standing female figure. The central figure, her curled hair loose, is seated on a stool. She holds an opened box in her left hand, and an item in her right hand that may be a spindle whorl or perhaps a lustral instrument.
Behind her, the young man holds aloft a strigil, a tool used for scraping oil and dirt from the skin in ancient bathing practices. He rests a short staff or club against his drooping robe, and in his right, holds an item on a string, most likely a perfume jar (aryballos), but possibly a purse.
If this is indeed a wedding scene, it is almost certainly representing the bridal bath, part of the ritual of purification and fertility at the start of the wedding day (gamos).
d’Hancarville sees the older woman standing alongside as the Roman pronuba, preparing to bind the hands of the young couple, though in the Greek context, the ribbon she holds is far more likely to be the bride’s girdle (zone), dedicated to the virgin goddesses as the bride moved from maiden to wife.
The winged figures above the scene holds sprigs or myrtle, and the ground below is scattered with grain and bread, both symbols of marital fecundity. d’Hancarville sees the figures as envoys of Hymenaeus, god of marriage, rather than erotes, as the main purpose of Greek marriage was not love foremost, but the cultural traditions it upheld. The scene is bordered by volutes and acanthus patterns, as well as a meander border below.
Condition: Central vertical fold, as issued. Trimmed to outside plate mark, without loss to plate or image. Stains to top right and left corners of sheet from old adhesive tape. Minor foxing to margins. Blank on verso.
[53744]
£1,250
42. Plate 71 [Youth attended by two women] Francesco Morelli
Copper engraving with original hand colouring [Naples, Francesco Morelli, 1766]
Image 165 x 285 mm, Plate 170 x 295 mm, Sheet 210 x 335 mm
A depiction of a red-figure vase painting featuring a young man and two female attendants, Plate 71 from Volume 2 of the Collection of Etruscan, Greek, and Roman Antiquities from the Cabinet of the Hon. Wm. Hamilton, His Britannick Majesty’s Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Court of Naples.
The central figure is a youth dressed in a travelling cloak, suggesting a scene of departure. He leans upon a long staff, likely a spear, though as its head is cut off by the decorative border, we cannot be certain that the young man is a soldier.
The two women are attired almost identically in peplos and himation, with their hair wrapped up in fabric. The woman behind holds out a fillet of cloth, while the other prepares to drop a slender item, maybe a sprig of foliage, a ribbon, or an item of jewellery, into the youth’s outstretched hand.
The chair behind suggests a domestic scene, rather than a mythical interpretation. d’Hancarville’s descriptive text is disappointing for this particular plate, listing it simply as one of numerous ‘additional’ scenes from Hamilton’s collection rather than giving it a detailed examination.
Condition: Trimmed to outside plate mark, without loss to plate or image. Stains to top right and left corners of sheet from old adhesive tape. Blank on verso.
[53736]
£500
43. Plate 109 [Pair of women with seated warrior]
Francesco Morelli
Copper engraving with original hand colouring [Naples, Francesco Morelli, 1766]
Image 200 x 290 mm, Plate 205 x 300, Sheet 245 x 335 mm
A depiction of a red-figure vase painting featuring three figures, two women and a seated nude youth, Plate 109 from Volume 2 of the Collection of Etruscan, Greek, and Roman Antiquities from the Cabinet of the Hon. Wm. Hamilton, His Britannick Majesty’s Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Court of Naples.
d’Hancarville’s descriptive text is disappointing for this particular plate, listing it simply as one of numerous ‘additional’ scenes from Hamilton’s collection rather than giving it a detailed examination. The central figure, seated and holding a spear, is almost certainly a warrior or hero, though without further context it is difficult to ascertain whether or not he is intended to represent a particular mythological figure.
He converses with a pair of women, one on either side of him, both of whom are dressed in diaphanous robes, with their hair tied up in fabric wraps. The scene is framed with an attractive double meander pattern, though it is unclear whether this was an original design from the oenochoe from which it was derived, or a decorative choice for the engraving by Morelli.
Condition: Trimmed to outside plate mark, without loss to plate or image. Stains to top right and left corners of sheet from old adhesive tape. Minor foxing to margins. Blank on verso.
[53739]
£600
44. Plate 130 [Hymenaeal Scene]
Francesco Morelli
Copper engraving with original hand colouring [Naples, Francesco Morelli, 1766]
Image 365 x 625 mm, Plate 380 x 630 mm, Sheet 410 x 665 mm
A depiction of a red-figure vase painting, Plate 130 from Volume 2 of the Collection of Etruscan, Greek, and Roman Antiquities from the Cabinet of the Hon. Wm. Hamilton, His Britannick Majesty’s Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Court of Naples. d’Hancarville’s descriptive text is disappointing for this particular plate, listing it simply as one of numerous ‘additional’ scenes from Hamilton’s collection rather than giving it a detailed examination. The plate, the final in volume two and one of the largest in Hamilton’s work, shows six figures, five male and one female, in a procession or ritual, with grape vines above and branches of what appears to be laurel below. The whole is enclosed by an elaborate and decorative border of repeating wave, acanthus, and egg-and-dart patterns.
The identities of the figures are unknown, and the scene may be mythological, devotional, or domestic. In the centre of the scene are a young couple, the male nude but for a cloak over his left arm. He, like all but one of his fellows, carries a large flaming torch, and his hair is garlanded. The young woman before him wears a long gown, her hair tied up in ribbons. Her skin and the front of her dress has been picked out in white. Behind another male youth holds up a long ribbon, perhaps the maiden’s girdle (zone). Flaming torches are one of the most common symbols of Hymenaeus, the god of marriage rites, so the scene could be a depiction of a wedding.
Many aspects of traditional marriage rituals occurred at night, and the removal of the bride’s girdle was one of the main rites of the wedding ceremony, though the prevalence of males in the scene is unusual, with the bride almost without exception accompanied by female maidservants, so this is unlikely to be a simple domestic scene.
In a mythological context, the central male could represent Hymen himself, who in many stories was said to be the son of either Dionysus or Apollo, both of whom are represented by the vegetal motifs of grape and laurel above and below the scene. Alternatively, the central figures could represent one of the popular mythological pairings, like Eros and Psyche, though neither figure has their common attributes (bow and quiver for the former, butterfly wings for the latter), or Orpheus and Eurydice. The myths of both couples involve torchlight, mystery, tragedy, and rediscovery, and in the latter context, if we see the use of white by the painter as symbolic of death rather than simply of femininity, then Eurydice is a good fit for the female figure. In both these cases though, the role of the other male figures in the scene is confusing. Perhaps the fact that there are multiple figures suggests that the scene represents the rites of one of the mystery cults of Dionysus, Orpheus, or similar.
Condition: Central vertical fold, as issued. Trimmed to outside plate mark, without loss to plate or image. Punctures to left of female figure, and to right border. Large waterstains to bottom corners of sheet. Stains to top right and left corners of sheet from old adhesive tape. Minor foxing to margins. Blank on verso.
[53747]
£1,500
45. Napoléon Visite les Travaux du Siège de Dantzick, Dirigés par le Maréchal le Febvre, le 9 Mai 1807
François Louis Couché and François Dequevauviller after Jacques Swebach-Desfontaines Etching with hand colouring Swebach del. Couché fils, Aqua forti. Dequevauvillers Sculp. [Paris, c.1860]
Image 270 x 381 mm, Sheet 300 x 474 mm
Napoleon reviewing the lines at the Siege of Danzig, modern Gdansk in Poland, originally etched for the Collection Complète des Tableaux Historiques de la Révolution Française, perhaps the most important and lavishly illustrated histories of the French Revolution, which included over two hundred views and portraits.
The current example was reissued in the mid-nineteenth century by the Administration des Journaux Reunis as part of the Campagnes des Français sous le Consulat et l’Empire Album
During the War of the Fourth Coalition, the city of Danzig held great strategic importance to the French Imperial armies in Prussia, due to its well-defended position, its stores of supplies, and its control of the Vistula river. The city was besieged by Marshall Lefebvre in March 1807 under the direct orders of Napoleon, who visited the 10th Corps of the Imperial Army in the final stages of the siege in May.
At the time of the siege, the city and its heavily fortified port, was defended by a force of Prussian troops under General Kalkreuth. In September, the city was established as a semiautonomous Free City, a position it retained until 1814, when the French withdrew following another siege, yielding to the besieging Russian forces.
In this scene, the Emperor and his entourage are shown in the foreground, examining gun emplacements, while infantry drill on parade grounds beyond.
Trimmed within plate at top and bottom.
[53903]
£180
46. Bataille d’Aboukir, Livrée le 7 Thermidor An 7. (25 Juillet 1799)
François Louis Couché and François Dequevauviller after Jacques Swebach-Desfontaines
Etching with hand colouring
Swebach del. Couché fils aqua forti. Dequevauvillers Sculpt. [Paris, c.1860]
Image 273 x 382 mm, Sheet 301 x 473 mm
A representation of key events of the Battle of Abukir, with Napoleon accepting the surrender of the Ottoman forces in the foreground, originally etched for the Collection Complète des Tableaux Historiques de la Révolution Française, perhaps the most important and lavishly illustrated histories of the French Revolution, which included over two hundred views and portraits. The current example was reissued in the midnineteenth century by the Administration des Journaux Reunis as part of the Campagnes des Français sous le Consulat et l’Empire Album.
The Battle of Abukir was the most significant pitched battle in the French invasion of Egypt, giving France temporary control over Egypt. Following the Syrian campaign, AngloOttoman strategic interests turned to dislodging the French forces from Egypt. An Ottoman force under Mustafa Pasha, supported by a fleet of British warships, landed on the peninsula of Abu Qir, northeast of Alexandria near the ancient city of Canopus.
The Ottomans quickly seized the poorly garrisoned fortress of Abu Qir, and set about establishing a double line of defensive infantry across the peninsula. Napoleon, realising that the Ottoman forces had no where to go in the event of a retreat, immediately attacked the first line before they had a chance to dig in, routing thousands of Ottoman troops, who were drowned attempting to swim to safety. The cavalry under General Murat charged the second line, and despite fierce resistance from the Ottomans, burst through, carrying his charge right into the tent of Mustafa Pasha himself, who was wounded and captured.
The current scene is a pastiche of the battle’s key moments. The cavalry charge can be seen in the distance, at the feet of the walls of the fortress, while the French infantry run the Turkish forces into the sea. British warships and Turkish transport vessels lie at anchor off the coast. The Pasha’s tent can be seen at far left, and in the foreground, the Pasha and his commanders kneel in surrender in front of Napoleon.
Trimmed within plate at top and bottom. Minor foxing to sky.
[53904]
£180
47. Don John, The Winner of the Great St. Leger Stakes at Doncaster, 1838
Charles Hunt after John Frederick Herring Aquatint with original hand colouring
Painted by J.F. Herring. Engraved by C. Hunt. London, Published Novr. 1838, by S & J Fuller at their Sporting Gallery, 34, Rathbone Place.
Image 353 x 424 mm, Sheet 372 x 457 mm
A beautifully hand-coloured illustration of the racehorse Don John, one of a large series of aquatints after paintings by John Frederick Herring of winners of The Derby and The St Leger. Don John, a bay stallion with a white sock on his left hind leg, is shown ridden by his usual jockey, Bill Scott, younger brother of his trainer John Scott.
The print was produced to celebrate his win at the Doncaster St Leger in 1838, in which he won, known only as ‘Lord Chesterfield’s Bay Colt by Tramp’ at that point, by two lengths. The rest of the field are shown beyond. The painting was taken before Don John’s most significant achievement, winning the Derby by five lengths and leaving the New Sporting Magazine to declare ‘never was a St. Leger won so easy or so gallantly.’
This particular example was published in the Fuller brothers’ continuation of Sheardown and Sons’ ‘Winning Horses of the Great St Leger Stakes ’
Full title below image reads: ‘Don John, the Winner of the Great St. Leger Stakes at Doncaster, 1838. 66 Subscribers, 7 Started. By Tramp or Waverley out of a Comus Mare (bred in 1820 or 1821 by Mr. Garforth) her dam Marciana by Stamford, out of Marcia, by Coriander-Faith by PacoletAtalanta by Matchem-Lass of the Mill by Oronooko. The Property of the Rt. Honble. the Earl of Chesterfield, To whom this Print by permission is most respectfully dedicated by the Publishers, S & J Fuller ’
Siltzer 146, Lane Herring 3(25).
Trimmed inside platemark, and laid to old gilt-edged framing card. Minor foxing and staining, particularly to inscription space. Patches of surface abrasion to image.
[54041]
£700
48. Lanercost, The Winner of the St. Leger Stakes at Newcastle, the Scarbro’ Stakes at Doncaster, the Caledonian Leger & Queen’s 100 Guis. at Ayr &c, &c, in 1838
Charles Hunt after Robert Harrington Aquatint with original hand colouring Painted by Robert Harrington. Engraved by C. Hunt. Carlisle, Published by Charles Thurnam, and to be had at S&J Fuller’s Sporting Gallery, 34, Rathbone Place, London [c.1840] Image 347 x 419 mm, Sheet 367 x 454 mm
A beautifully hand-coloured, and seemingly unrecorded, illustration of the racehorse Lanercost, after a painting by Robert Harrington and published under his auspices, with the assistance of the Carlisle-based printer and publisher Charles Thurnam. Lanercost, a dark bay stallion with a white forehead star, is shown ridden by a ‘H. Edwards,’ most likely Harry Edwards, son of the trainer James ‘ Tiny’ Edwards.
Although no longer well known, Lanercost was a true stayer of the northern and Scottish racing circuits. His career was long and successful, gaining 22 wins from 40 starts. The ‘pride of Cumberland,’ on the turf he established a popular rivalry with the mare Bee’s Wing, from Northumberland.
This particular aquatint seems to have been separately published by Harrington and Thurnam, as an addition to the Fuller brothers’ expansive series’ of portraits of St. Leger Winners.
Full title below image reads: ‘Lanercost, The Winner of the St. Leger Stakes at Newcastle, the Scarbro’ Stakes at Doncaster, the Caledonian Leger & Queen’s 100 Guis. at Ayr &c, &c, in 1838. Pedigree, Lanercost was bred by Mr. Jona.n Wood of Cockermouth, and purchased when one Year old, by Mr. John Ramshay of Naworth Castle, Cumberland. Lanercost was got by Liverpool, his dam Otis by Bustard (Son of Buzzard) out of Gayhurst’s dam, by Election, Sister to Sky-Scraper by Highflyer. The Property of W.R. Ramsay Esqre. of Barnton, To whom this Print by permission is most respectfully dedicated by Robert Harrington & Charles Thurnam.’
Siltzer (undescribed), Lane Harrington (undescribed).
Trimmed inside platemark, and laid to old gilt-edged framing card. Light foxing to margins. Minor surface creasing. [54069]
£850
49. Young Driver.
Thomas Burford
Mezzotint
T. Burford advivum delin et fecit. Design’d, and Publish’d, as the Act directs, by T. Burford, May 14, 1765.
Image 252 x 343 mm, Plate 255 x 345 mm, Sheet 266 x 363 mm
A rare mid-eighteenth century mezzotint sporting portrait of the racehorse Young Driver, a bobtailed colt with white socks on his hind legs, and a white star on his forehead.
The horse, a winner at Epsom, Barnet, Enfield, Ascot, and Malden between 1762 and 1764, is shown in full gallop, bridled and jockeyed. Burford has depicted him with all four legs off the ground, commonly seen in early paintings of racing, in order to convey the rapid movement of the horse.
Below, the title is enclosed in a decorative baroque-framed cartouche at the centre of the inscription, which reads: ‘In the Year 62, he won the Fifty’s for 4 Years Old, at Epsom, & Barnet, in 63, the Five Years Old, at Epsom, Barnet, and Enfield, in 64, the Give & Take at Epsom, Ascot-Heath, and Malden ’
Chaloner-Smith (undescribed), Siltzer (undescribed), Lane Burford (undescribed).
Fleur-de-lys armorial watermark in laid paper. Trimmed close to platemark on all sides. Minor chips, tears, and creases to edges of sheet. Left margin partially repaired. Some light surface abrasion to image.
[54070]
£375
50. Dahman
Lorenz Ekeman-Allesson after Rudolf Kuntz Lithograph
Nach d. Leben gez. v. Rud. Kuntz. Lithogr. v. L. Ekeman Allesson. [Stuttgart, c.1824]
Image 372 x 420 mm, Sheet 469 x 551 mm
A large early nineteenth century lithograph of Dahman, an Arabian chestnut bay stallion with three white socks and a star on his forehead. This portrait, like the other seventeen in the series, was published as part of the very rare Abbildungen Königlich Württembergischer Gestütts Pferde von orientalischen Racen, a catalogue of the the Arabian bloodstock of the famous Weil Stud established by King William I of Wurttemberg.
The series, commissioned directly by the Wurttemberg Stud, shows each horse in an idealised Arabian landscape. In this case, Dahman stands facing left on a rocky outcrop overlooking a bay. To the left, the minarets of a mosque can be seen in the skyline of a town beyond a grove of palms. The lithographs were based on drawings and paintings taken from life by Rudolf Kuntz.
Small tears and creases to bottom edge of sheet, not affecting image. Minor foxing and inclusions in paper, particularly to sky and to right margin.
[54071]
£600
Artists, Printmakers, & Publishers BIOGRAPHIES
Lorenz Ekeman-Allesson (1791-1828) was a Swedish German lithographer active in Stuttgart. Although best known as a topographical engraver, he also produced a rare and important series of lithographs of the Arabian bloodstock of the Wurttemberg stud.
Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522-1605), often known simply as Aldrovandus, was a Italian humanist, naturalist, and author, often hailed as the father of modern natural history. A professor of philosophy, logic, and natural history at the University of Bologna, Aldrovandus championed the creation and development of the Orto Botanico di Bologna, one of the oldest botanic gardens in the world. Having studied widely in the humanities, law, philosophy, medicine, logic, zoology, botany, and geology, Aldrovandus was one of the most important scholars in Europe at the end of the sixteenth century. Indeed, Aldrovandus is widely considered to have been the first to use the term ‘geology’ for this branch of science. His treatises covered many aspects of natural history, and his own collections, housed in a cabinet of curiosities bequeathed to the Senate of Bologna, formed the basis of his monumental Theatrum, an illustrated work of natural history covering more than 7000 specimens demonstrating the diversity of life.
William Bell Scott (1811-1890), painter and poet, was associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement from its beginning through his friendship with Rossetti. He produced oils and watercolours of Biblical and historical scenes, and also landscape paintings in the Pre-Raphaelite style. Bell Scott was born in Edinburgh where he received his art education. His father was an engineer and his brother was the historical painter David Scott. He exhibited in Edinburgh and published poetry in the 1830’s. In 1837 he moved to London where he associated with the genre painters of the Clique, who included Augustus Egg, Richard Dadd, John Phillip, Henry Nelson O’Neil and William Powell Frith. In London, Bell Scott exhibited in the British Institution from 1841 and the Royal Academy from 1842.
On his failure to achieve success in the Westminster Hall cartoon competition in 1843 he took up the mastership of the School of Design in Newcastle, where he remained for the next twenty years, later providing an important link between the Pre-Raphaelites and their patrons in the north east of England. Although he contributed to “The Germ”, Scott was never a member of either Etching Club, since he worked and taught in Newcastle and later lived mainly in Ayrshire. His ideals were similar to those of most members of the Etching Club. He was a close friend of Dante Gabriel Rosetti and a great admirer of William Blake. At the time he was probably the most accomplished British artist working outside London.
Basilius Besler (1561 – 1629) was a respected Nuremberg apothecary and botanist, best known for his monumental ‘Hortus Eystettensis’. He was curator of the garden of Johann Konrad von Gemmingen, prince bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria. The bishop commissioned Besler to compile a codex of the plants growing in his garden, a task which Besler took sixteen years to complete, Johann Konrad dying shortly before the work was published.
Samuel Buck (1696-1779) and Nathaniel Buck (fl. 17271774) were British engravers and publishers, best known for their famous series of English and Welsh views. In 1727, the brothers commenced sketching and engraving a series on the architectural remains of England and Wales. This series included 83 large prospects of the 70 principal towns in England and Wales. It took the Buck brothers 28 years to complete their venture and during this time changes to their style. The brothers began to use a less formal style in their later engravings by including figures in the foreground and using more subtle landscapes in the foreground. In 1774, Robert Sayer obtained the plates, added page numbers to them and published them as Buck’s Antiquities
Thomas Burford (c.1710 - c.1779) was an English painter, draughtsman, and mezzotinter. Working in the style of James Seymour and Francis Sartorius, many of his mezzotints are of sporting subjects, particularly race horses after his own paintings and those of his contemporaries.
Charles Louis Clérisseau (1721 – 1820) was a French architectural draughtsman, antiquary and artist. As a student of the painter Giovanni Paolo Pannini, Clérisseau became a key figure in the development of neoclassical architecture during the second half of the 18th century. While in Italy, he met the British architect and artist Robert Adam, and was a major inspiration for Adam’s undertaking to record the remains of Diocletian’s Palace at Split in modern day Croatia. It is likely that many of the initial drawings for this publication were undertaken by Clérisseau himself, to be engraved later by the Italian Domenico Cunego. Cunego would go on to engrave a series of Italian Views after paintings by Clérisseau. Like many British artists based in Rome, Clérisseau supplemented his artistic living by acting as a tour-guide and dealer for his fellow Frenchmen. As a result, he was part of the well-connected circle of artists and dealers operating in Rome during the latter half of the eighteenth century, including Piranesi, Gavin Hamilton, and Thomas Jenkyns.
François Louis Couché (1782-1849) was a French printmaker and engraver. The son of the engraver Jacques Couché, he often signed his work ‘Couché fils.’
George Cruikshank (1792 –1878) was one of the most well-known 19th century caricaturists, from a family of book illustrators and satirists. He apprenticed under his father Isaac Cruikshank (1764-1811) and followed his elder brother Isaac Robert Cruikshank (1789-1856) into the family business. His early works focused on social caricatures of English life followed by pointed political prints depicting the Tories, Whigs and Radicals impartially, earning him the title of the “modern Hogarth”. In the 1820’s he turned his attention to book illustration, the most well-known of these being his illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens’ Sketches by Boz (1836), The Mudfog Papers (1837–38) and Oliver Twist (1838).
Domenico Cunego (1727 - 1803) was an Italian engraver and painter. Although he began his career studying under the painter Francesco Ferrari, producing several works all of which are now lost or untraceable, at the age of 18, Cunego shifted to the field of engraving. It is possible that he was a self-taught engraver. Primarily a reproductive engraver, Cunego engraved works after artists such as Michelangelo, Guido Reni, and Antonio Balestra. Cunego also reproduced works after British artists in Italy, particularly those catering to Grand Tourists. A contemporary of Piranesi, Cunego was involved in many of the same circles, working closely with the art and antiquities dealer, Gavin Hamilton, and producing some of the plates for Robert Adam’s celebrated Ruins of the palace of the Emperor Diocletian at Spalatro in Dalmatia (1764).
François Dequevauviller (1745-1807) was a French printer, publisher, and engraver, particularly of landscapes and genre scenes by French, Flemish, and Dutch artists, though his output also included portraits, battle scenes, and even natural history.
Michael Egerton (fl. 1820-1829) is the name usually applied to a designer and satirist who signed his work only as ‘M E Esqr.’ The assumption that his surname is Egerton may be due to a number of his works having been printed by the publisher William Egerton, though his use of the pseudonyms ‘I’ and ‘Ego’ make it plausible that ‘ME’ is also a pun.
Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-1770) was a German gardener and biologist, and the most influential botanical and entomological artist of his era. After an apprenticeship in Heidelberg brought him to the attention of Linnaeus and the wealthy VOC governor George Clifford, Ehret moved to England, where he received the patronage of Sir Hans Sloane and the Duchess of Portland. His most celebrated works include paintings for Catesby’s Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, illustrations of specimens from the Chelsea Physic Garden for the head gardener Philip Miller, and commissions from the young Joseph Banks upon his return from Canada.
James Gillray (c.1756-1815), was a British caricaturist and printmaker famous for his etched political and social satires. Born in Chelsea, Gillray studied letter-engraving, and was later admitted to the Royal Academy where he was influenced by the work of Hogarth. His caricature L’Assemblée Nationale (1804) gained huge notoriety when the Prince of Wales paid a large sum of money to have it suppressed and its plate destroyed. Gillray lived with his publisher and print-seller Miss (often called Mrs) Humphrey during the entire period of his fame. Twopenny Whist, a depiction of four individuals playing cards, is widely believed to feature Miss Humphrey as an ageing lady with eyeglasses and a bonnet. One of Gillray’s later prints, Very Slippy-Weather, shows Miss Humphrey’s shop in St. James’s Street in the background. In the shop window a number of Gillray’s previously published prints, such as Tiddy-Doll the Great French Gingerbread Maker [...] a satire on Napoleon’s king-making proclivities, are shown in the shop window. His last work Interior of a Barber’s Shop in Assize Time, from a design by Bunbury, was published in 1811. While he was engaged on it he became mad, although he had occasional intervals of sanity. Gillray died on 1 June 1815, and was buried in St James’s churchyard, Piccadilly.
Johann Jakob Haid (1704-1767) was a German painter, publisher, and engraver. He trained in Augsburg where he is likely to have taught enamelling in 1745. The father of Johann Elias Haid, he is also known to have founded a large publishing house. Best known as a mezzotinter, he was active in England in addition to Augsburg and Nuremberg.
Robert Harrington (1800-1882) was a British painter of sporting scenes, livestock, and racehorses.
John Frederick Herring (1795-1865) was an AngloAmerican painter of Dutch descent, best known as a painter of horses. After moving to Doncaster as a young man, he initially worked as a sign-writer and coachman, though his artistic talents gained the attention of a number of his high-profile clients and he began painting racehorses, most famously a series of the winners of the Great St Leger. In 1845 he was made Animal Painter to the Duchess of Kent, a commission that brought him to the attention of Queen Victoria, who became his patron for the remainder of his life. From 1836, he usually appended ‘Sr.’ to his signature in order to differentiate himself from his son, also a painter of equestrian subjects.
William Hogarth (1697-1764) was born in London, the son of an unsuccessful schoolmaster and writer from Westmoreland. After apprenticeship to a goldsmith, he began to produce his own engraved designs in about 1710. He later took up oil painting, starting with small portrait groups called conversation pieces. He went on to create a series of paintings satirising contemporary customs, but based on earlier Italian prints, of which the first was The Harlot’s Progress (1731), and perhaps the most famous The Rake’s Progress. His engravings were so plagiarised that he lobbied for the Copyright Act of 1735, commonly referred to as ‘Hogarth’s Act,’ as a protection for writers and artists. During the 1730s Hogarth also developed into an original painter of life-sized portraits, and created the first of several history paintings in the grand manner.
Charles Hunt (1803-1877) was a British artist and engraver, and father of Charles Hunt II (b. 1830), also an engraver. Although mostly known as an engraver of sporting scenes and racehorses, he also produced topographical scenes and caricatures. Much of his career was spent in partnership with the publisher and printmaker George Hunt, most likely his cousin.
Charles Parsons Knight (1743-c.1827) was an English miniature painter, engraver, and printmaker. His output, often for the publisher William Dickinson, was prolific and varied, including caricatures after Bunbury, genre scenes and stipples after Kauffman and Bartolozzi, and portraits by Stothard, Reynolds, Sir Thomas Lawrence, and Hoppner.
Rudolf Kuntz (1797-1848) was a German painter and draughtsman, and court painter to Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden in Karlsruhe.
Nicolas de Larmessin II (c.1645-1725) was a French printmaker, the younger brother of Nicholas de Larmessin I and the father of Nicolas de Larmessin III, both of whom were also engravers.
Domenico Louisa (fl.1710-1750), often Lovisa, was an Italian printmaker, publisher, and author, best known for printing a large series of views of Venice in the later part of the 1710s entitled Il gran Teatro di Venezia. Very little is known of his personal life, though the success of the Teatro seems to have established his business as something of a brand, as works continued to be published under his name until the end of the century.
John Martin (1789-1854) was an English painter, illustrator and mezzotint engraver. He achieved huge popular acclaim with his historical landscape paintings which featured melodramatic scenes of apocalyptic events taken from the Bible and other mythological sources. Influenced by the work of J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) as well as Theodore Gericault (1791–1824), Eugene Delacroix (1798–1863) and Paul Delaroche (1797–1856), his paintings are characterised by dramatic lighting and vast architectural settings. Most of his pictures were reproduced in the form of engravings, and book engravings, from which he derived his fortune. Despite his popularity, Martin’s work was spurned by the critics, notably John Ruskin, and he was not elected to the Royal Academy. His fame declined rapidly after his death, although three of his best known works of religious art toured Britain and America in the 1870s: The Great Day of his Wrath (1853, Tate, London), The Last Judgment (1853, Tate) and The Plains of Heaven (1851-3, Tate). A great contributor to English landscape painting, Martin was a key influence on Thomas Cole (1801-48), one of the founding members of the Hudson River School.
Francesco Morelli (fl. 1766-1830) was a French-Italian publisher, engraver, and painter. He is best known for his work on antiquarian subjects, particularly Pompeiian and Neapolitan subjects. In addition to publishing and probably engraving the plates for the catalogue of vases in the collection of Sir William Hamilton, he also produced a series of engravings of the so-called Villa of Horace near Licenza.
Giovanni Battista (also Giambattista) Piranesi (1720 – 1778) was an Italian artist famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric “prisons” (the Carceri d’Invenzione). He was a major Italian printmaker, architect and antiquarian. The son of a Venetian master builder, he studied architecture and stage design, through which he became familiar with Illusionism. During the 1740’s, when Rome was emerging as the centre of Neoclassicism, Piranesi began his lifelong obsession with the city’s architecture. He was taught to etch by Giuseppe Vasi and this became the medium for which he was best known.
Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) was one of the most important figures of the eighteenth century art world. He was the first President of the Royal Academy and Britain’s leading portrait painter. Through a series of lectures on the Discourses on Art at the Royal Academy he defined the style later known as the Grand Manner, an idealised Classical aesthetic. He had a profound impact on the theory and practice of art and helped to raise the status of portrait painting into the realm of fine art. A flamboyant socialite, Reynolds used his social contacts to promote himself and advance his career becoming one of the most prominent portrait painters of the period.
Luke Sullivan (1705-1771) was a London-based Irish engraver and miniature painter. He was supported in his early career by the Duke of Beaufort, his father having worked for the Duke as a groom. His best known works were completed as an assistant to William Hogarth, though Hogarth was reputed to have had difficulty working with Sullivan, owing to the latter’s erratic behaviour and frequent absences. Later in his career he worked on engravings of various British views, including that of Stonehenge for Grose’s ‘Antiquities of England and Wales, ’ as well as having some success as a miniaturist with the Society of Artists.
Jacques Swebach-Desfontaines (1769-1823) was a French painter, draughtsman, and printmaker, known primarily for his miniatures of Napoleonic battle scenes, and military and equestrian portraits. Between 1815 and 1820 he worked in the Imperial Factory in St Petersburg.
Gerald Valck (1652-1726) was a Dutch publisher, globe maker, art seller, and engraver. He trained under Abraham Blooteling, later becoming his assistant. The pair moved to London in 1672 where Valck worked with David Loggan and Christopher Browne. Gerard married Maria, Blooteling’s sister, and in 1675 their son, Leonard, was born. After returning to Amsterdam around 1680, he partnered with Petrus Schenk to found a prolific publishing house, acquiring plates from the Hondius and Visscher atlases among others.
Filippo Vasconi (c.1687-1730) was an Italian printmaker. A proud Roman, he most frequently signed his work ‘Philippus Vasconus,’ the Latinate spelling of his name, often followed by ‘Romanus’ or ‘Cives Romanus.’
James Watson (c. 1740-1790) was an engraver who was born in Ireland. As a young man he moved to London, where he studied mezzotint engraving. He became one of the leading mezzotint engravers of the day, including fifty-six plates after the paintings of Joshua Reynolds. The majority of Watson’s work was produced for Sayer, Boydell and other printsellers but he published some plates himself. Watson exhibited at the Society of Artists from 1762 to 1775, during which time he was regarded as a master in his field.
