Object Number 1957.1258.002 A

Object Name

Print (Mezzotint)

Title

A POLITICAL LESSON.

Category

Prints and Maps

Credit Line/Donor

Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont

Creator (Role)

John Dixon (Mezzotinter)
c.1740-1811

John Bowles (Publisher)
c.1701-1779
John Bowles traded under his own name from c. 1724-1754 and 1764-1779. He trained his son Carington Bowles (1724-1792) and they traded together as John Bowles and Son from 1754 to 1764. John's brother Thomas Bowles (1712-1767) had a similar business in St. Paul's Churchyard, which Carington took over in 1764 when his uncle retired. Carington and John then began trading separately under their own names. Carington was succeeded by his son Henry Carington Bowles (1763-1830), who printed under the name Bowles & Carver (with Samuel Carver). John was succeeded by Robert Wilkinson. John Bowles, and later John Bowles and Son, used the inscription "at the Black Horse in Cornhill" until 1766, when fire damaged his shop. He relocated to No. 13 Cornhill by 1768.

Place of Origin

London, London, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Date

September 7 1774 (1774-1774)

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Inscription; Lower left, beneath image; J. Dixon invenit et fecit
2. Inscription; Lower right, beneath image; Published 7, Sep.\r 1774
3. Inscription; Lower right, beneath title; Printed for John Bowles, at N.\o 13 in Cornhill.

Subjects

Social/political commentary

Materials

Ink; Paper (laid)

Techniques

Mezzotint with minimal burin work, Engraving

Dimensions (inches)

16.5 (H) , 11.6 (W) , 13.9 (Image H) , 9.9 (Image W)

Dimensions (centimeters)

41.8 (H) , 29.5 (W) , 13.9 (Image H) , 9.9 (Image W)

Measurement Notes

H at left. W at bottom. Plate H (at left): 14.0 in. (35.6 cm). Plate W (at bottom): 9.875 in. (25.1 cm). Chain interval: 2.7 cm; laid line frequency: 9 per cm.

Publisher Summary

Bowles, John

Publication Date

09/07/1774

Place of Publication

13 Cornhill, London, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Watermark

Unidentified

Object Description

Text available soon.

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Fowble, E. McSherry. 1987 Two Centuries of Prints in America, 1680-1880 : A Selective Catalogue of the Winterthur Museum Collection.
• Published: no. 92, pp. 148-149.
[Book] Library of Congress & Cresswell, Donald H. 1975 The American Revolution in Drawings and Prints: A Checklist of 1765-1790 Graphics in the Library of Congress. Compiled by Donald H. Cresswell.
• See nos. 667, 80, 81.
[Book] The British Museum & George, Mary Dorothy. Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires Preserved in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum. 5.
• Print listed as no. 5230, p. 168.