Rare antique hand-colored print Symptoms of the Shop Plate #9 dated 1801, London

Description: Plate #9 of a series of 12 hand-colored satirical engravings on wove paper drawn by London-based artist George Moutard Woodward (1760 or 1765 - 1809) and etched by printmaker Francis Sansom (active between 1780 and 1810), titled “Symptoms of the Shop”. Left, right and top margins were cut off, leaving only the bottom margin with this text "Pub. June 1st 1801 by S.W. Fores No.50 Piccadilly Prints and Drawings lent on the plan of a Library Folio's of Caricature lent out for the Evening." / Symptoms of the Shop" / "Drawn by G. Woodward Etched by F. Sansom". The plate numbe,r “Plate 9”, was written in the top right corner (missing). Each plate depicted two persons engaged in humorous wordplay relating to the characteristics of a trade or calling. Here, an officer is courting a lady, using an abundance of military metaphors: “Most adorable Bellona - your eyes like balls of fire, spring a mine upon my outer-works, & though I have gone through a campaign of nine years in endeavouring to bring you to an honorable capitulation, yet still I am happy in returning to the attack, hoping that by perseverance & industry in my profession I might yet be able to storm your bulwarks - break down the fortifications of coy reluctance, & by means of Cupid's scaling ladder force you to surrender at discretion." (note that Bellona is the Roman goddess of war - from casus belli, bellicose, belligerent - and funnily sounds very close to bella donna, beautiful lady in Italian, as well as a plant (Atropa Belladonna) used mainly in the Renaissance to make eye drops supposed to dilate women’s pupils and make their eyes appear more seductive - hence the mention of her eyes “like balls of fire”...) Prints of this series are very rare. According to OCLC 5online Computer Library Center) there are only two complete sets in libraries and institutions worldwide (The Lewis Walpole Library, CT. has a complete colored set, Princeton, NJ also has a complete set but does not mention 'colored'). Yale University has nine of the twelve colored plates (missing numbers 1, 7 & 8). Harvard, MA has one plate. These two artists previously collaborated on Every Body in Town (BC-28), Every Body Out of Town (BC-29), and Pigmy Revels: All Alive in Lilliput (BC-62), all published by Fores. Each plate depicts two persons engaged in humorous wordplay relating to the characteristics of a trade or calling. (Most of the information contained in the description above was found on davidbrassrarebooks.com). Professionally framed in the 1950s or 1960: the baguettes are no longer tight together on the top left corner, but it’s still firm and sturdy, not loose, and in the back the brown paper was cut open along the top edge (see pictures), but as one can see in the pictures, overall these issues don’t have a real visual impact and the frame still does the job. Dimensions: frame: 15 x 12 inchesprint: 9 10/16 x 7 inches {{{ Please make sure you read the following carefully: INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING: shipping mentioned for this item is valid for DOMESTIC SHIPPING ONLY (from Boston, Massachusetts, to anywhere else in the United States).If you are located outside of the United States, please message me to discuss shipping details PRIOR TO MAKING YOUR PURCHASE..}}}

Price: 79 USD

Location: Somerville, Massachusetts

End Time: 2024-01-11T06:28:36.000Z

Shipping Cost: 15 USD