Publisher Information:
Edward Orme, Printseller to the King,
London:
1811.
A Fine original copperplate engraving on rag paper, drawn from life and etched by Samuel Howitt. Imperial Octavo (11.25 x 8.25 inches, 285 x 209 mm). Samuel Howitt (1760-1822) an talented albeit self-trained engraver of animals, whose work was unique contribution to British Sporting Art of the Georgian Period. Samuel Howitt was the brother-in-law of noted Thomas Rowlandson yet his artistic style remained without influence from Rowlandson, one of Britain's prominent 19th century caricaturists. Inspired by his own experiences as a field sportsman, Howitt excelled at the spirited and formal depiction of the hunt. Here he included all animals: wild and tame, foreign and domestic. His engravings after the fables of Aesop, Phaedrus and Gay are the finest examples of both his whimsical personification of the animals, and his inherent grasp of the animal amidst the British countryside. From ancient times, the fable, thus morality tale, was way of imparting necessary, yet well-intentioned advice to our fellow man. If the harsh lessons of human virtue, vice and folly were softened under the guise of animals, the lessons were more likely to be received and respected. Even today, Howitt's engravings of the fables remain a gentle yet poignant reminder of one of life's lessons; either hard-won, or still to be learned. Many of our favored and well-known expressions such as the ever encouraging: "One good turn deserves another" and the landlord's lament: "Possession is Eleven Points the Law", were derived from these very tales. Although the engravings were issued as individual plates, void of any accompanying text, we have researched and identified the each fable, and offer the engraving and fable complete. Each plate is sold individually. (Siltzer. British Sporting Prints. 160. Casey Wood, The Literature of Vertebrate Zoology, 392.)
Edition: First Edition
Condition: Fine Condition
Book Id: 2900
Price: $350.00
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