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begin page 24 | ↑ back to topBlake in the Marketplace, 1984
Beginning in the Winter 1973-74 issue, this journal has published reviews of Blake sales every two years through 1982-83. With this issue, we initiate a new series of yearly reviews. This first contribution will follow the same format, and offer the same coverage of both Blake and his circle, as the 1982-83 report (Blake 18 [1984], 68-93). The main reason for the change in frequency is to provide information about the sale of important materials as quickly as possible. Fortunately, 1984 offers an additional rationale for an early report because of several newsworthy auctions.
As far as I can determine, on complete copies of Blake’s illuminated books changed hands in 1984 and only 2 pages in relief etching were sold. Both are illustrated here and briefly described (illus. 1 & 2). The only significant sale of a book illustrated by Blake was the December auction, and subsequent offer by a dealer, of an unrecorded colored copy of Young’s Night Thoughts. The list of drawings includes 6 examples, with a lovely preliminary drawing for the Job engravings (illus. 3) as the stellar attraction. At £56, 160, this work sold at auction for over 2½ times the estimate and established a new record for a working (and slightly faded) drawing by Blake. I have not been able to confirm reports that the purchaser was Ian Woodner, one of the leading collectors of old master drawings in this country. If true, then the sale clearly indicates that Blake has arrived—at last and alas—in the big-time, big-money art world. Yet even this auction pales beside the remarkable price fetched by one of the 4 silver gilt castings of Flaxman’s “Shield of Achilles” which, at £484,000, set all sorts of records. The whirligig of time seems to have restored Neoclassicism to its former eminence.
The print category includes one notable auction. On 14 June, Sotheby’s London offered 17 Blake etchings and engravings in 7 lots. Most were run of the mill items, but the offerings included such rarities as an unrecorded impression of the frontispiece to Songs of Experience (illus. 2), the frontispiece to The Prologue and Characters of Chaucer’s Pilgrims (only the eleventh known impression), and a previously unrecorded final state of the “James Upton” portrait (illus. 8). One lot featured two impressions of the “Wilson Lowry” portrait by Linnell and Blake, plus a “book illustration by the same”—which in this context could mean either artist or both. This under- and mis-described print turned out to be a previously unknown work signed “Blake sc.” in the plate (illus. 7). The anonymous vender of most, or perhaps even all, of these lots reported to Sotheby’s that the prints came from a scrapbook which had languished in her attic for nigh on 40 years. I have not been able to discover anything further about the history of this collection, now dispersed.
The most entertaining spectacle in the 1984 marketplace offered a heady mixture of thrills and disappointments. Early in June I learned that Christie’s London would be offering, in its sale of “Important Old Master Prints” on 27 June, a group of 6 plates described by the auction house as being from For Children: The Gates of Paradise. One East Coast collector was prepared to pay many times the estimate of £700-1000 for these rare prints. A sharp-eyed bookdealer soon depressed the excitement more than a little and reddened the faces of Christie’s print experts: the plates were actually from the more common For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise, and at least some were probably posthumous pulls on mid-nineteenth century paper. When the catalogue finally made its way to California, I found that it included a reproduction of plate 11 (“Aged Ignorance,” appropriately enough) which did not match any recorded states. My pleasure over this minor discovery of a new state lasted until I compared the illustration to William Muir’s convincing, but distinctively inaccurate, facsimile of 1888. The much-heralded Christie’s plates, or at least the one chosen for reproduction, was clearly a Muir. After a flurry of phone calls between interested dealers and collectors, Christie’s was informed of the evidence and withdrew the lot. The episode inspired Jenijoy La Belle to sum up the matter in verse:
The Gates of Paradise: Epiloguebegin page 25 | ↑ back to top
Truly, my Christie’s, thou art but a dunce,
And dost not know the true print from the fake;
Every harlot was a virgin once,
Nor canst thou ever change Muir into Blake.
ABBREVIATIONS
| BBA | Bloomsbury Book Auctions, London |
| cat. | catalogue or sales list issued by a dealer (usually followed by a number or letter designation) or auction house (followed by the day and month of the sale) |
| CL | Christie, Manson & Woods, Ltd., London |
| CNY | Christie, Manson & Woods, New York |
| illus. | the item or part thereof is reproduced in the catalogue |
| pl(s). | plate(s) |
| SL | Sotheby Parke Bernet, London |
| SNY | Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York |
| st. | state of an engraving, etching, or lithograph |
| Swann | Swann Galleries, Inc., auctioneers, New York |
| # | auction lot or catalogue item number |
The year of all sales and catalogues is 1984 unless noted otherwise. Except for Swann, the auction houses listed above add their purchaser’s surcharge to the hammer price (i.e., the winning bid at auction) in their price lists. These net amounts are given here, following the official price lists in all cases.
I wish to thank those friends, particularly Shelley Bennett, Martin Butlin, Detlef Dörrbecker,[e] Ruth Fine, and Thomas Lange, who have generously given me information about Blake sales.
ILLUMINATED BOOKS
The Book of Urizen, pl. 4 only. Listed in Bentley, Blake Books, p. 953, #38. Acquired Feb. by R. Essick from a private collector. See illus. 1.
Songs of Experience, frontispiece only. SL, 14 June, #200, illus. (£10,450 to D. Heald for R. Essick). See illus. 2.
DRAWINGS
“Butlin #—” refers by entry number to Martin Butlin, The Paintings and Drawings of William Blake (New Haven and London: Yale Univ. Press, 1981), 2 vols.
Head of a Young Man, possibly Antinous, from the Blake-Varley Sketchbook. Pencil, 8 × 6⅛ in. Butlin #692.86. CL, 20 Nov., #104 (not sold).
Head of Job(?), from the Blake-Varley Sketchbook. Pencil, 8 × 6⅛ in. Butlin #692.92. CL, 20 Nov., #103, illus. (£3240).
Job and His Daughters. Pencil, gray ink, water color, 7¾ × 10 in. Butlin #556. CL, 10 July, #225, illus. color (Ian Woodner[?], £56,160). See illus. 3.
The Mourners. Pen & ink over pencil with gray washes, 18 × 24 cm. Butlin #153. Purchased Sept. by R. Essick from E. Taubman. See illus. 4.
Queen Constance and Her Son. Pencil & pen, wash, 20.9 × 24.9 cm. Sketch of a foot & 2 figures on verso. Butlin #151. CL, 10 July, #85, illus. (Spink & Son, £3780). Sold by Spink by Oct., apparently to a private collector. See illus. 5 & 6.
Sketch for War Unchained by an Angel, Fire, Pestilence, and Famine Following (recto, c. 1780); Studies of a Child, perhaps for the frontispiece to Malkin’s Memoirs of His Child (verso, c. 1805). Pen & India ink, 17.7 × 22.1 cm. Butlin #186. Purchased April by R. Essick from a private collector in Scotland.
MANUSCRIPTS
Edward Garrard Marsh. Series of “over fifty” autograph letters to William Hayley, 1801-14, with references to Blake. SL, 6 Dec., #87, 1 letter illus. (not sold; estimate £4000-5000).
SEPARATE PLATES & PLATES IN SERIES, INCLUDING PLATES EXTRACTED FROM PRINTED BOOKS
“Beggar’s Opera, Act III,” after Hogarth, 4th st. SL, 14 June, #195, some staining (£143).
Chaucer, Prologue and Characters of Chaucer’s Pilgrims, 1812, frontispiece only. SL, 14 June, #199, illus. (£968 to D. Heald for R. Essick).
Gay, Fables, 1793, pls. from. Ben Abraham Books, Jan. cat. 3, #18, 5 pls. by Blake ($35 each).
Job, engraved illus. to, 1825. Lawson, Jan. cat. 218, #54, 1st issue without “Proof,” bookplate of Barron Field (£4000). Walford, Feb. private offer, 1874 printing ($7500). SNY, 3 May, #425, pl. 4 only, published “Proof” on laid India, buckled, foxed ($330). Black Sun Books, July cat. 64, #49, “Proof” issue on laid India, original blue paper boards with label, chipped ($17,000). SNY, 11 Oct., #619, pls. 7 & 12 only, published “Proof” issue ($550); #620, pls. 7, 8, 12, regular issue on Whatman paper ($900); #621, pls. 19 & 21, regular issue on Whatman paper ($400). SNY, 8 Nov., #3, 1874 printing, some foxing, pls. 3 & 5 illus. (not sold). David Tunick, winter cat. 12, #133, “Proof” issue on laid India, some foxing, from collection of Beverly Chew, half-leather binding, pl. 14 illus. (“price on request”—apparently meaning over $18,000). CL, 7 Dec., #655, pls. 7, 17-19 only, “Proof” issue on laid India, pl. 17 illus. (£1300).
“Lavater, Rev. John Caspar,” after an unknown artist. SL, 14 June, #198, 3rd (final) st., stained, illus. (bought-in begin page 26 | ↑ back to top at £250).
“Lowry, Wilson,” Blake and Linnell after Linnell. SL, 14 June, #195A, 2 impressions of the final st., 1 on laid India (torn), & a pl. of “Carfax Conduit, Oxford” signed “Blake sc.” (£88 to D. Heald for R. Essick). “Lowry” pls. now in the Huntington Library; for “Carfax Conduit,” see illus. 7.
Rees, Cyclopaedia. Lawson, Jan. cat. 218, #56, 6 pls. from, not specified (£45).
“Upton, James,” Blake and Linnell after Linnell. SL, 14 June, #197, previously unrecorded 3rd (final) st., illus. (£275 to D. Heald for R. Essick). See illus. 8.
“Venus Dissuades Adonis from Hunting,” after Cosway. SL, 14 June, #196, printed in black, imprint cropped, with “May-Day in London” from The Wit’s Magazine, “Shipwreck” from Hayley’s Life of Romney, “Orlando Uprooting a Pine” from Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso, 6 pls. from Scott’s Poems, Blake’s pl. from Enfield’s The Speaker, and 1 pl. not by Blake (£154 to D. Heald for R. Essick). Although it was by far the most important print in the lot, “Venus Dissuades” was not named in the catalogue. The pl. for Enfield was lost before the lot was delivered to Heald.
Virgil, Pastorals of, Blake’s wood engravings for Thornton’s edition. SL, 8 March, #310, 2 cuts, Linnell reprintings, 1 stained in the margin (not sold). CNY, 1 May, #365, “Menalcus Watching Women Dance” only, wove paper, small stains ($55). W. & V. Dailey, complete set of Linnell reprintings mounted in a red leather album, offered summer-fall at $4500, acquired Oct. by “an institution which wishes to remain anonymous” (according to the Daileys).
“Winged Figure Flying through Clouds,” after Stothard. See Bray, Life of Stothard, under “Stothard,” below.
BOOKS WITH ENGRAVINGS BY & AFTER BLAKE
Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, 1783. Swann, 16 Feb., #7 ($130).
Blair, The Grave. Lawson, Jan. cat. 218, #57, 1813 quarto, title-page imprint cut off (£140). Ben Abraham Books, Jan. cat. 3, #7, 1808 quarto, subscriber’s copy ($1750); same copy, winter 84 cat. 4, #4 ($1750). Howard Mott, Feb. cat. 209, #32, 1813 “folio, original cloth” (i.e., 1870 folio?), rebacked, foxed ($300). Sims, Reed & Fogg, Feb. 84 cats. 56 & 57, #17 & 89, 1808 quarto (£325); cat. 56, #18, 1813 quarto (£275). Wilsey Books, April cat. 12, #32, 1808 quarto, “original blue boards,” front cover detached, uncut, no mention of cover label ($650). Claude Cox, spring cat. 42, #25, 1813 quarto, “later blue grained cloth . . . presumably an issue binding used by Ackermann for copies stored in sheets for many years” (£120). McDowell & Stern, May cat. 28, #363, 1813 quarto, “little marking” (£180). Claude Cox, July cat. 43, #10, 1808 quarto, some spotting (£350). Traylen, July cat. 97, #82, 1808 quarto, some pls. foxed (£330). SL, 27 July, #354, 1808 quarto, spotted, lacking spine (Demetzy, £165). Traylen, Aug. cat. 97, #82, 1808 quarto, little foxed (£330); #1081, 1808 “folio”(?), no mention of the st. of the pls. (£490). Pickering & Chatto, Oct. cat. 42, #8, 1808 quarto ($1250). SNY, 12 Dec., #367A, 1808 “folio”(?), shabby condition ($220).
Bryant, New System . . . of Ancient Mythology, 2nd ed. Traylen, Aug. cat. 97, #142 (£160).
Catullus, Poems. W. Thomas Taylor, Dec. cat. 37, #23, 2 vols. in 1, with half-title & errata ($800).
Cumberland, Outlines from the Antients. Joseph Felcone, May cat. 27, #19, “large paper copy” ($175).
Cumberland, Thoughts on Outline. Paul Grinke, March cat. 10, #95, margins slightly foxed & dampstained (£110). Blackwell’s, March cat. A60, #88, title-page motto corrected by hand, margins soiled (£350).
Darwin, Botanic Garden. Lawson, Jan. cat. 218, #58, 1st ed. of Part I, 3rd of Part II (£120). Traylen, March cat. 96, #25, 1st ed., rebacked (£220). Beeleigh Abbey Books, May cat. 37, #97, 1st ed. of Part I, 2nd of Part II, foxed (£160); #429, 3rd ed. of Part I, 4th of Part II, slight foxing (£190). Deighton Bell, July cat. 228, #624, 3rd ed. of Part I, 4th of Part II, worn (£300). BBA, 29 Nov., #232, 3rd ed. (Finch, £308).
Darwin, Poetical Works. Walford, Jan. cat. A/306, #94, rebacked, age-yellowed (£135).
Flaxman, Hesiod illustrations. James Fenning, fall cat. 71, #163, 1870 ed. (£30). Swann, 20 Dec., #267, apparently 1817 ed., with Iliad, Odyssey, & Aeschylus designs, 1805-31, foxed ($250). Blackwell’s, Dec. cat. A72, #108, 1817 ed., with Iliad 1805, Odyssey 1805, & Aeschylus 1831, in 4 vols. with Charles Dickens’ bookplate in the Iliad vol. and his library label in each (“sold”).
Flaxman, Iliad illustrations. Ben Abraham Books, Jan. cat. 3, #16, 1805 ed., foxed ($365). James Fenning, fall cat. 41, #164, 1870 ed. (£25).
Fuseli, Lectures on Painting. Paul Grinke, March cat. 10, #129, uncut (£95).
Gay, Fables. Lawson, Jan. cat. 218, #59, 1st ed., “one of the large copies” (£85). Howes, spring cat. 225, #789, 1st ed., fancy binding, “entirely uncut” (£285). SNY, 16 May, #62, 2nd ed., minor stains, rubbed ($192). SL, 9 July, #465, lacking 1 (unidentified) pl., spotted, worn (Elliott, £30). Traylen, Aug. cat. 97, #416, “large paper copy,” 2 vols. in 1, ed. not specified (£135). CNY, 16 Nov., #137, fancy binding ($385). BBA, 29 Nov., #246, Viscount Weymouth/Britwell copy, fancy binding (Traylen, £605).
Gough, Sepulchral Monuments. SL, 23 Oct., #356, 2 vols., 1786, 1796, worn, covers detached, with Le Neve Monumenta Anglicana, 1717-19, & 7 others (Robertshaw, £110).
Hayley, Ballads, 1805. Lawson, Jan. cat. 218, #60, lacking 4 leaves of text (£100).
Hayley, Life, and Posthumous Writings, of Cowper. Lawson, Jan. cat. 218, #61, 1st ed. with supplementary vol. (£120). Beeleigh Abbey Books, May cat. 37, #210, 1st ed., lacking half-titles (£120). Ximenes, Sept. cat. 69, #249, 2nd ed. with supplementary vol. ($400). Sanders, Dec. cat. 108, #134, 1st ed., lacking half-titles (£140).
Hayley, Life of Romney. Sims, Reed & Fogg, Feb. cat. 57, #90 (£150); same copy, June cat. 63, #1197 (£150); same copy, Aug. cat. 66, #28 (£125); same copy, Oct. cat. 68, #349 (£150). Rainsford, June cat. A39, #976 (£175).
begin page 29 | ↑ back to top
Hayley, Triumphs of Temper, 12th ed., 1803. BBA, 19 Jan., #206, small paper copy (A. Thomas, £176). Lawson, Jan. cat. 218, #62, small paper copy (£125); #63, large paper copy (£300). Sanders, April cat. 107, #102 (£160). W. & V. Dailey, July cat. 33, #22, small paper copy, rebacked ($400). Ximenes, Sept. 84 cat. 69, #361, “large paper copy . . . 8⅝ × 5⅝,” with half-title ($1000). G. Stuart, fall cat. 1, #95, large paper copy ($395). Uncut copies of the large paper issue measure 9⅝ × 5⅞ in.
Hunter, Historical Journal. Christie’s Australia, 3 April, #59, 1st ed. quarto, foxed, worn ($2000 Australian).
Josephus, Whole Genuine and Complete Works. Swann, 9 Feb., #264, apparently the issue of c. 1785, stained, covers detached ($175).
Lavater, Aphorisms, 1789. Blackwell’s, Jan. 84 cat. A59, #197, pencil annotations (£65).
Lavater, Essays on Physiognomy. John Andrew, Feb. cat. 2, #85, 1789-98, vol. 3 in original parts, uncut (£1250). Swann, 22 March, #192, 1789-98, worn, foxed, lacking begin page 31 | ↑ back to top half-titles ($500). Christie’s Scotland, 22 March, #186, 1789-98 (£389). SL, 10 April, #541, 1810, offsets from pls., rubbed (Jones, £165). Swann, 26 April, #125, 1789-98, minor foxing ($500). Joseph Falcone, May cat. 27, #51, 1789-98, covers detached, some foxing ($250). Charles Wood, June cat. 54, #77, 1789-98, fancy binding, weak hinges ($750). Christie’s Rome, 6 June, #201, 1789-98 (750 lira—multo cheapo). Traylen, Aug. cat. 97, #575, 1792 issue (£480). Lawson, winter 84-85 cat. 221, #138, 1810, fancy binding (£450).
Malkin, Father’s Memoirs of His Child. Ben Abraham Books, Jan. cat. 3, #33, foxed ($500). Lawson, Jan. cat. 218, #65, frontispiece slightly foxed (£185). Blackwell’s Sept. cat. A69, frontispiece slightly water stained (£110).
Rees, Cyclopaedia. Walford, Jan. cat. A/305, #153, 6 pls. vols. only, “bindings defective” (£384). BBA, 23 May, #288, 6 vols. of pls. only, some spotting (Jeffrey, £132). SL, 9 July, #940, 39 text vols. & 5 pls. vols., 2 vols. lacking leaves, all title pps. lacking, covers loose (Jeffrey, £55). Traylen, Aug. cat. 97, #752, 39 text vols. & 5 pls. vols., few bindings repaired, “fine set” (£1100).
Ritson, Select Collection of English Songs. Pickering & Chatto, Feb. cat. 652, #246, Thomas Park’s copy with his annotations for the 1813 ed. ($1250); #247, rubbed ($450). Blackwell’s, May cat. A65, #213 (£220).
Royal Universal Family Bible. Swann, 9 Feb., #30, disbound (not sold).
Scott, Poems, 1782. Pickering & Chatto, July cat. 39, #55, some waterstaining (£250).
Shakespeare, Plays, 1805. McDowell & Stern, May cat. 28, #303, 10 vol. issue, extra-illus. with 160 pls. (apparently none by Blake), fancy binding (£450). Robert Clark, Oct. cat. 1, #270, 10 vol. issue (£220). Marlborough, Oct. cat. 108, #29, 9 vol. issue (£250).
Stedman, Narrative. W. & V. Dailey, July cat. 33, #241, 1806 ed., rebacked, 1 pl. torn ($650). Beeleigh Abbey Books, autumn cat. 38, #132, 1813 ed. (£500).
Virgil, Pastorals, ed. Thornton. Phillips auction, London, 16 Feb., #191, both vols., some spotting, modern green morocco (£1561). The only 2 vol. copy I have seen on the market for about 10 years.
Wollstonecraft, Original Stories. SL, 27 July, #511, 1791 ed., soiled, pl. 4 illus. (Schiller, £715); #512, 1796 ed., light offsets (Schiller, £440).
Young, Night Thoughts, uncolored. Lawson, Jan. cat. 218, #66, fore-edge uncut (£1250). Sims, Reed & Fogg, Feb. cat. 57, #88, with Explanation leaf, rebacked (£1900). CL, 30 May, #183, “contemporary panelled calf gilt in the style of Edwards of Halifax,” title to Night the First illus. (Maggs, £4860, apparently for the binding). SL, 27 July, #353, some margins cropped, lacking Explanation leaf, covers detached (Percival, £792). Traylen, Aug. cat. 97, #990, lacking Explanation leaf, top edge gilt, others “uncut” (£1800). Tunick, winter cat. 12, #132, sold as a collection of prints, no mention of Explanation leaf, minor foxing, title page to Night the Third illus. ($6750—a record?).
Young, Night Thoughts, colored. SL, 17 Dec., #318, all pls. hand colored, with Explanation leaf, “red straight-|grained morocco gilt, uncut . . . probably acquired by Charles John, fifth Baron Dimsdale,” p. 4 and title page to Night the Third illus., the latter in color (Sam Fogg, £13, 750). Same copy offered Sims, Reed & Fogg, Jan. 1985 cat. 70, #245, where it is reported that Death on pl. 1 of this previously unrecorded copy is colored gray as in the Houghton Library copy, title page to “Night the Third” illus. (£20,000). Sold by Jan. 1985 to a private collector.
BLAKE’S CIRCLE & FOLLOWERS
Works are listed under artists’ names in the following order: untitled paintings and drawings sold in groups, single paintings and drawings, letters and manuscripts, separate plates, books with plates by or after the artist.
BARRY, JAMES
Series of Etchings, 1808. CL, 6 Nov., #63, stained, binding loose, with an album of engravings after Coypel (£237).
“John Milton Dictating Paradise Lost,” etching, proof before letters. SL, 14 June, #193, some staining (£385).
BASIRE, JAMES
“Embarkation of King Henry VIII at Dover May 30, 1520,” engraving. CL, 22 May, #29, “reprint(?),” stained (not sold).
CALVERT, EDWARD
“Cyder Feast,” wood engraving. Craddock & Barnard, Aug. cat. 148, #67, from the Memoir (sold).
“Lady and the Rooks” & “Return Home,” 2 wood engravings on 1 sheet. Craddock & Barnard, Aug. cat. 148, #68, from the Memoir (£430).
“Return Home,” wood engraving. Craddock & Barnard, Aug. cat. 148, #69, from the Memoir, small margins (£270).
begin page 32 | ↑ back to topFLAXMAN, JOHN
Dante and Beatrice. Pen & ink over pencil, 32 × 37 cm. SL, 21 Nov., #7, illus. (£2640).
Miss Denman with Children of the Tulk Family. Pencil, 24 × 20 cm. SL, 21 Nov., #73, illus. (£1100).
Shield of Achilles. Cast silver, gilt, 93 cm. diameter, 1821. From the collection of the Duke of Northumberland. SL, “Important Silver and Gold,” 3 May, #124, illus. color with details and preliminary drawings not for sale (E.C. & T. Koopman & Son/Armitage, £484,000). Reported as a world record for a work in silver; certainly a record for any work by Flaxman. According to Country Life, 14 June 1984, the purchaser was Muhammed Mahdi Al Tajir, Ambassador for the United Arab Emirates to the Court of St. James. The only other silver castings were made for George IV (still in the Royal Collection), the Earl of Lonsdale (now at Anglesey Abbey, the property of the National Trust), and the Duke of York (acquired by the Huntington Library & Art Collections in 1973).
Studies of Classical Figures. 2 sheets, recto & verso, pen & ink, each 21 × 35 cm. SL, Nov. 1983, #4 (not sold).
Aeschylus Illustrations. James Fenning, fall cat. 71, #161, 1870 ed. (£25).
Anatomical Studies, 1833. Marlborough, Oct. cat. 108, #26 (£150).
Dante illustrations. BBA, 9 Feb., #233, La Divina Comedia di Dante, 1802, with 109 of 110 pls. (Bloomsbury Rare Books, £24). Howes, spring cat. 225, #788, 1807 ed., rubbed (£75). James Fenning, fall cat. 71, #162, 1807 ed. (£48.50).
Lectures on Sculpture. Sanders, April cat. 107, #35, 1838 ed. (£60). Michael Bennett, spring cat. 44, #90, 1838 ed. (£40). Sims, Reed & Fogg, Oct. cat. 68, #132, 1838 ed. (£50). Marlborough, Oct. cat. 108, #195, 1829 ed. (£110).
Oeuvre Complet, Paris, 1844. Swann, 20 Dec., #226, 4 of 8 vols. only: Odyssey, Dante, Hesiod, & “Sujets Divers” (not sold).
FUSELI, HENRY
Head of Caractacus. Oil, cut from a larger painting now destroyed, 22.9 × 17.8 cm. CL, 23 Nov., #60, illus. (£5400).
Huon and Amanda by the Dead Body of Alphonsos (for Sotheby’s Oberon, engraved R.H. Cromek 1806). Oil, 61 × 44.5 cm. CL, 23 Nov., #59, illus. color (not sold).
Richard Plantagenet Throws the Head of the Duke of Somerset at the Feet of His Father. Pencil & brown wash with gum arabic heightened with oil, inscribed “Roma 70,” 29 × 40.5 cm. SL, 17 Nov. 1983, #95, illus. color (not sold; estimate £15,000-20,000).
“Woman Sitting by a Window” (“O Evening thou Bringest All”), lithograph. SL, 8 March, #308, 1st st., foxed & soiled, vertical crease, 2 skinned patches, illus. (£352); subsequently acquired by Weston Gallery, sold Feb. 1985 to R. Essick, CL, 6 Nov., #62A, st. not given, some staining (£864).
Bible, published Macklin, 1800. Swann, 9 Feb., #41, lacking Apocrypha (issued later), worn, covers detached ($225).
Boothby, Sorrows Sacred to the Memory of Penelope. Deighton Bell, July cat. 228, #601, paper boards worn (£130). Quaritch, fall cat. 23, #109, fancy binding ($1250).
Boydell, Collection of Prints Illustrating . . . Shakspeare. Heritage Bookshop, Feb. private offer, 93 pls. only, many working proofs including 4 of pls. after Fuseli (R. Essick; previously sold Swann, 21 April 1983, #127, for $550).
Darwin, Temple of Nature, 1803. John Andrew, Oct. cat. 5, #32 (£250).
Pope, Rape of the Lock, 1798. Claude Cox, July cat. 43, #11, large paper, fancy binding (£60).
Smollett, Humphry Clinker, 1769. John Andrew, Oct. 84 cat. 5, #141, 1st issue, “grubby set” (£65).
LINNELL, JOHN
Backs of Old Houses, with a Broken Fence. Black & white chalk on blue paper, 10 × 13½ in. CL, 15 May, #201, with 2 landscapes by R. Hills (£183).
Entrance of the River Lea into the Thames & The River Lea. 2 water colors, 44 × 59 cm. SL, 17 Nov. 1983, #70, both illus. (£968).
Paddock in Elms Lane. Pencil & white heightening, 11½ × 17½ in., signed & dated c. 1840. Martyn Gregory, Feb. cat. 35, #89 (£150).
Portrait of Henry Sterry. Water color, signed & dated Feb. 1824, 32 × 24 cm. SL, 12 July, #24, illus. (£1045).
Portrait of Professor Mylne. Oil, 41 × 34.5 cm., 1835. SL, 29 Feb., #32, illus. (£880).
Timber Wagon. Oil, 44.5 × 63.5 cm., signed & dated 1855. SL, 21 Nov., #84, illus. (£3080).
Varley, John, study of. Pencil, 6⅞ × 4⅝ in., signed & dated “about 1821.” CL, 10 July 84, #233, with a smaller study by Varley (£756).
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MORTIMER, JOHN HAMILTON
Beatrice. Pen & ink study for (or after?) the Shakespeare etching of 1776. SL, 21 Nov., #71, illus. (not sold—because a copy?).
Collection of 55 etchings by and after. SL, 14 June, #204 (£242).
“Death on a Pale Horse,” engraved by Haynes. SL, 14 June, #205, proof before title, with “A Monumental Design,” Haynes after Mortimer, proof before title (£308 to D. Heald for R. Essick).
“Self Portrait,” etching, perhaps by Blyth. SL, 14 June, #202, with 4 pls. by or after Mortimer (£231); same impression(?) of the self portrait, Weston Gallery, Jan. 1985 cat. 1, #18, proof before letters, illus. ($510).
Shakespeare Characters. SL, 14 June, #202A, including Ophelia, Bardolph, Edgar, Caliban, Richard II, Poet (proof before letters), some foxing (£264); #203, including Beatrice, Lear, Cassandra, York, Shylock, Falstaff (£308).
“Studies of Soldiers and a Woman,” pair, etchings by Blyth, 1780. Weston Gallery, Sept. cat. 9, #33, illus. ($135).
PALMER, HANNA
The Villa d’Este at Tivoli, attributed to Hanna Palmer. Water color, 49.7 × 35 cm. Agnew, Jan. cat., #174 (£850).
PALMER, SAMUEL
Evening: A Countryman Returning Home Greeted by His Children. Water color heightened with white, 7½ × 16⅛ in. CL, 20 March, #104, illus. color (not sold; estimate £5000-8000).
The Gypsy Dell. Water color, 31.5 × 46.5 cm., exhibited 1847. SL, 17 Nov. 1983, #172, illus. color (£11,000).
Sheep in the Shade, pencil & water color, & a landscape sketch in pencil & sepia wash on the verso, 6 × 9 in., c. 1851. Martyn Gregory, Feb. cat. 35, #102, illus. color (£5500).
Sunset: The Campagna and Aqueducts of Rome. Water color, 5⅝ × 15⅝ in. CL, 20 Nov., #116, illus. (£4968).
Palmer and John Linnell, Young Angler. Oil, 45 × 28.5 cm. SL, 21 Nov., #96, illus. color (£35,200).
“Bellman,” etching. CL, 25 April, #441, 7th st., 1926 printing, light foxing & staining, illus. (£1188). CNY, 7 Nov., #272, 7th st., 1926 printing, faint stains, illus. (not sold).
“Cypress Grove,” etching. Craddock & Barnard, Aug. cat. 148, #305, 2nd st. (£130).
“Early Ploughman,” etching. Craddock & Barnard, Aug. cat. 148, #302, 4th st. (£240); #308, 8th st. (£380).
“Herdsman’s Cottage,” etching. CL, 25 April, #439, 2nd st., with 8 pls. not by Palmer (£140). Craddock & Barnard, Aug. cat. 148, #299, 1st st. (£525); #300, 2nd st. (£190).
“Homeward Star,” etching. Craddock & Barnard, Aug. cat. 148, #304, 2nd st. (£130).
“Moeris and Galatea,” etching. Craddock & Barnard, Aug. cat. 148, #307, 1st st. (£160); #308, 2nd st. (£135).
“Rising Moon,” etching. CL, 25 April, #440, 7th st. (£162). Craddock & Barnard, Aug. cat. 148, #301, 7th st., unlaid India paper (£165). CNY, 7 Nov., #270, 7th st., laid India, foxed (not sold).
“Sepulchre,” etching. Craddock & Barnard, Aug. cat. 148, #306, 2nd st. (£110).
“Skylark,” etching. Craddock & Barnard, Aug. cat. 148, #298, 7th st. (£535). CNY, 7 Nov., #267, proof after the pl. was cut down between 6th and 7th st. ($330).
“Sleeping Shepherd,” etching. Weston Gallery, Jan. cat. 1, #42, 4th st., laid India ($665). CNY, 7 Nov., #269, 4th st., laid India, foxed ($308).
“Weary Ploughman,” etching. CNY, 1 May, #186, 7th st. but before the number, slight staining (not sold); 7 Nov., #271, 8th st., laid India, foxed ($352).
“Willow,” etching. CNY, 1 May, #185, 2nd st., signed ($330); 7 Nov., #266, 3rd st., 1926 printing ($165). Craddock & Barnard, Aug. cat. 148, #297, 2nd st. (£220).
Book of Favourite Modern Ballads, 1860. Lawson, Jan. cat. 218, #219 (£45).
Dickens, Pictures from Italy, 1846. Lawson, Jan. cat. 218, #220, original cloth (£65).
Etchings from the Art Union, 1857, with “Sleeping Shepherd” & “Skylark.” CL, 25 April, #442, worn album (£594).
Hamerton, Etching & Etchers, 1868, with “Early Ploughman.” Lawson, Jan. cat. 218, #35, rebound (£500). Swann, 3 May, #197, original cloth very worn, some foxing ($1000).
Milton, Shorter Poems, 1889. Ars Artis, Feb. cat. 49, #1834 (£150). Wilsey Books, April cat. 12, #151, original cloth, marginal foxing ($150). Blackwell’s, Sept. cat. A68, #350, some spotting, original cloth rebacked begin page 35 | ↑ back to top
Palmer, A.H., Life and Letters of S. Palmer, 1892. Sims, Reed & Fogg, Feb. cats. 56 & 57, #149 & 211, large paper, original cloth (£200); same copy, June 84 cat. 63, #1022 (£200). Rainsford, June cat. A39, #890, large paper, original cloth (£260).
Proctor, Legends and Lyrics, 1866. Sterling Books, May
Songs and Ballads of Shakespeare, Etching Club, 1853, with “Plumpy Bacchus.” Ars Artis, Feb. 84 cat. 49, #1832, spine repaired (£150).
Virgil, Eclogues. Lawson, Jan. cat. 218, #223, 1884 ed., “orig. vellum” (£250). Ars Artis, Feb. cat. 49, #1833, 1883 ed., small paper (£500). Wilsey Books, begin page 37 | ↑ back to top April cat. 12, #150, 1883 ed., “large-paper,” rebound ($1000).
RICHMOND, GEORGE (excluding later portraits)
Adoration of the Shepherds. Oil sketch, 23.5 × 32.5 cm. SL, 24 Oct., #261, illus. (£275).
Lady at a Writing Desk. Pen & ink & pencil, 33 × 21.5 cm., dated 1829. SL, 17 Nov. 1983, #117, illus. (£715).
Man with a Team of Oxen & Warriors Resting by a Parapet. 2 water colors, 13 × 16.5 & 16.5 × 11.5 cm. SL, 21 Nov., #68, Man with Team illus. (£935).
A Mother and her Child. Pencil, pen & ink, 8⅞ × 7¼ in. CL, 18 Dec., #179 (£140).
The Sower. Pen & ink, 13⅞ × 7¼ in., initialed & dated 3 Feb. 1830. CL, 20 Nov., #117, illus. (£7020).
ROMNEY, GEORGE (excluding portrait paintings)
Cupid and Psyche. Pen & sepia, 32.4 × 21.6 cm. Agnew, Jan. cat., #161, illus. (£2500).
Fall of the Rebel Angels. Pencil sketch for, 15⅜ × 12 in. CL, 10 July, #83, illus. (not sold).
Figures Gathered Outside a House. Pen & wash, 18 × 25.5 cm. SL, 11 Oct., #26 (not sold).
Group of Mourners. Pen, 6 × 10 in. CL, 24 July, #92 (not sold).
Studies of a Reclining Figure: Serena in the Boat of Apathy. Pen & ink, 4⅜ × 7¼ in., the subject from Hayley’s Triumphs of Temper. CL, 20 March, #3, illus. (£302).
Study of a Lady. Pen & ink with wash, 25.5 × 19.5 cm. SL, 21 Nov., #23, illus. (£528).
Study of the Rape of the Sabines. Pen & wash, 15 × 23.5 cm. CNY, 1 March, #444 (£352).
SHERMAN, WELBY
“The Bacchante,” wood engraving after Calvert. SL, 8 March, #317, from the Carfax Portfolio, illus. (not sold).
SHIELDS, FREDERIC
William Blake’s Workroom at 3 Fountain Court the Strand. Pencil & gray wash, 23 × 32.5 cm. SL, 12 July, #66, framed, illus. (J.S. Maas & Co., £2090). Sold by Maas Nov. 84 to R. Essick. See illus. 9.
STOTHARD, THOMAS
Beauty, Victory and Love in a Rose Bower. Pencil, ink & water color, 5 × 6½ in. CL, 18 Dec., #16 (£216).
Britannia. Oil, 45 × 35.5 cm. CL, 25 May, #77, illus. (£756).
Britannia Mourns the Ashes of Nelson. Pencil, pen, brown wash, oval, 5¼ × 3½ in. An illus. to Southey, Life of Nelson. CL, 10 July, #117, (£86).
By the Rivers of Babylon. Water color, 5 × 6⅝ in. CL, 10 July, #108 (£183).
Canterbury Pilgrims. Oil on panel, 12 × 40.5 cm., painted 1813 for Samuel Rogers. SL, 14 March, #106, illus. color (£7700—well over estimate and probably a record for a painting by Stothard).
The Eve of Macartney’s Entrance into China. Preliminary pen & ink sketch, 4 × 3 in., for the frontispiece to George Staunton, An Historical Account of the Embassy to the Emperor of China (1797). Martyn Gregory, Feb. cat. 35, #119 (£380).
The Family Reunion. Oil, 11½ × 15 in. CL, 27 July, #208 (not sold).
The Farewell. Oil on panel, 24.8 × 30.5 cm. CL, 2 Nov., #162, illus. (£432).
Gathering in the Vintage. Oil, 21.5 × 15 cm., similar to a design for Rogers, Pleasures of Memory. SL, 16 May, #215 (not sold).
King Lear and His Daughters. Water color, 11 × 7½ in. Martyn Gregory, Feb. cat. 39, #122 (£250).
Mission in Africa. Pen & water color, 3⅝ × 3¾ in. CL, 24 July, #24, with a drawing by Monro (£86).
Nude Reclining on a Couch. Pencil, signed & dated 1829, 6¾ × 8¾ in. CL, 15 May, #193 (£108).
Pair of large George III silver gilt sideboard dishes designed by Stothard, showing in the center a bold relief of Bacchus and Ariadne, 77.5 cm. diameter. SL, “Important Silver and Gold,” 3 May, #105, illus. color with the preliminary drawing for the central design, not part of the lot (£286,000). No doubt a record for any work designed by Stothard.
Sancho Panza and the Duchess. Oil, 48.2 × 38.7 cm. CL, 27 July, #207 (not sold).
Sterne, Tristram Shandy & A Sentimental Journey. 6 pencil & gray wash drawings for, 4⅝ × 3½ in. and smaller. CL, 10 July, #116, with 6 pls. after the drawings (£453).
The Victory of Assaye for the Wellington Shield. Pencil & brown wash, 6 × 11⅜ in. CL, 10 July, #118, illus. (£972).
Young, Night Thoughts. 8 pencil, pen, & wash illustrations for the 1798 ed., 5¼ × 3¾ in. CL, 10 July, begin page 38 | ↑ back to top #115, with 6 of the pls., 1 drawing illus. (Sims, Reed & Fogg, £918). See illus. 10.
Large group of prints after Stothard illustrating Milton, Richardson, Bunyan, etc. CL, 6 March, #38 (£183).
“Lost Apple,” lithograph. SL, 8 March, #311, foxed, corner creases, illus. (£363). CL, 6 Nov., #62, minor stains (£453).
Bijou, an annual of literature and the arts, 1829. Pickering & Chatto, Feb. cat. 652, #431, worn ($65).
Boccaccio, illustrations of the Decameron, 10 proofs on laid India, 1825. Pickering & Chatto, winter cat. 34, #55, original wrappers frayed ($650).
Bray, Life of Stothard, extra-illustrated copies only. D. Heald, Jan. private offer, 3 vols. with 560 added pls., including “Winged Figure Flying through Clouds” engraved by Blake (3rd recorded impression), illustrations to J. Scott’s poems, and pls. by Blake for the Novelist’s Magazine (acquired R. Essick); previously sold BBA, 15 Dec. 1983, #291 (£440 to Snelling). Kenneth Karmiole, Jan. cat. 84, #12, 137 added pls., none by Blake ($200). Beeleigh Abbey Books, May cat. 37, #189, 2 vols. with 169 added pls. (£395).
Cromek, Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, 1810. Jarndyce, winter 1983-84 cat. 32, #585 (£38).
Hayley, Essay on Old Maids, 1793. Blackwell’s, May cat. A65, #126 (£50).
Literary Souvenir, 1828. James Fenning, April cat. 68, #409, original printed boards (£18.50).
Novelist’s Magazine, vol. with Tristram Shandy, 1781. Claude Cox, March cat. 41, #173 (£12).
Rogers, Italy, A Poem. Jarndyce, winter 1983-84 cat. 32, #763, 1836 ed. (£14). T. Hannas, spring cat. 72, #367, 1834 ed., some foxing (£25). Beeleigh Abbey Books, May cat. 37, #299, 1838 ed., pls. on laid India (£65). BBA, 29 Nov., #387, 1830 ed., with Rogers, Poems, 1834 (Symington, £99).
Rogers, Pleasures of Memory, 1810. BBA, 29 Nov., #386, contemporary “Etruscan” style binding by J. Rodwell (Marlborough, £154).
Rogers, Poems. Jarndyce, winter 1983-84 cat. 32, #759, 1812 ed. (£20); #760, 1834 ed. extra-illustrated (£32). Howard Mott, Feb. cat. 209, #387, 1834 ed., original boards uncut ($125). T. Hannas, spring cat. 72, #368, 1816 ed., rebacked (£30). Beeleigh Abbey Books, May cat. 37, #300, 1838 ed. (£50). Claude Cox, July cat. 43, #12, 1812 ed. (£30).
Shakespeare, Plays, 9 vols., 1825. Maggs, summer cat. 1048, #109, original cloth, with S. Maunder, Little Lexicon [1825], spines illus. (£450).
Thomson, The Seasons. T. Hannas, spring cat. 72, #472, 1795 ed. (£15). BBA, 29 Nov., #304, 1793 ed. (Ayres, £55).
Young, Night Thoughts, 1798 (see also drawings, above). Claude Cox, winter cat. 40, #211 (£35). James Fenning, April cat. 68, #457, light foxing (£24.50). Sanders, April cat. 534, #534 (£40).
VARLEY, JOHN (selection only)
Studies for A Treatise on Zodiacal Physiognomy, including “Gemini,” “Cancer,” “a Cur,” “a Pup,” “Pride,” “Taurus,” & others on 5 sheets, 5½ × 9¾ in. & smaller, from the collection of John Linnell. CL, 20 March, #28 (£518).
VON HOLST, THEODORE M.
44 drawings in pencil & pen, 12 × 7¾ in. & smaller. CL, 15 May, #7, 1 illus. (not sold; estimate £400-600).