Memoirs Of Sir Edwin Landseer A Sketch Of The Life Of The Artist, Illustrated With Reproductuions Of Twenty-Four Of His Most Popular Works. Being a New Edition of "The Early Works of Sir Edwin Landseer." By F.G. Stephens Author Of "Flemish Relics" "Memorials Of Mulready" Etc.
London:: George Bell And Sons, York Street, Covent Garden., 1874.
Physical Description
xv, [i], 184 p., [24] pl. incl. frontis. (port.); 254 mm.
General Note
Pl. not numbered but listed as I-XXIV in 'List Of The Illustrations'.
Contents
[Half-title, frontis., t.p.] - Preface - Contents - List Of The Illustrations - Sir Edwin Landseer [poem] - [Text, with pl.].
Responsibility Note
The poem on Sir Edwin Landseer is reprinted from Punch, 1873 October 11.
The plates are captioned but not signed; but the 'List Of The Illustrations' states that the twenty that are 'permanent photographs' were printed by the Woodbury Company, from engravings by C.G. Lewis, William Finden, R.J. Lane A.R.A., B.P. Gibbon, Samuel Cousins R.A., John Outrim, J.H. Watt, John Burnet or Thomas Landseer A.R.A.
The text printer is named on the t.p. verso: 'Chiswick Press: - Printed By Whittingham And Wilkins, Tooks Court, Chancery Lane.'
References
M. Stevens, 'The Royal Academy in the age of Queen Victoria', in Art in the age of Queen Victoria: treasures from the Royal Academy, ed. H. Valentine (1999); R. Ormond, Sir Edwin Landseer [exhibition catalogue] (1981).
On F.G. Stephens see D.S. Macleod, 'F.G. Stephens, PreRaphaelite critic and art historian', in Burlington magazine, 128 (1986), p.398-406.
On photomechanic reproduction see H. and A. Gernsheim, The history of photography (1955), p.276-9; and on photography in art history see W.M. Freitag, 'Early uses of photography in the history of art', in Art journal (Winter 1979-80), p.117-23.
On the printers see A. Warren, The Charles Whittinghams: printers (1896).
On the publishers see A. Weedon, 'A quantitative survey: George Bell and Sons', in Publishing history, 33 (1993), p.5-35; M. Lang, 'George Bell & Sons', in British literary publishing houses 1820-1880, ed. P.J. Anderson (1991), p.22-31; E. Bell, George Bell, publisher (1924).
Summary Note
The biography of Landseer in eight chapters is followed by a 'Catalogue of the Exhibited Works of Sir Edwin Landseer' (p. 147-171) (beginning with those exhibited at the Royal Academy) and a 'Catalogue of his Engraved Works' (p.173-184).
Twenty plates are 'Permanent Photographs', showing portraits by Landseer of people and animals; four are woodcuts showing paintings of animals. Woodbury's 'permanent photographs' are not exactly photographs but result from a mould process and have no light-sensitive material in their final form
Binding Note
19th-century green cloth-covered boards, upper cover gilt-stamped with 16th-century-style arabesque panels and a recumbent lion, and lettered 'Memoirs Of Sir Edwin Landseer'; gilt-decorated spine, lettered 'Memoirs Of Sir Edwin Landseer By F.G. Stephens' and 'George Bell & Sons'.
Painters - Animal painters - Artists - Great Britain - 19th century
Art history - Biography - Catalogues - Great Britain - 19th century
Pictorial works - Photomechanical prints - Woodburytypes - Relief halftones (prints) - 19th century