Object Number 1965.2598

Object Name

Print (Mezzotint)

Title

Mary Dutchess of Ancaster,, 1756

Category

Prints and Maps

Credit Line/Donor

Gift of Mrs. Waldron Phoenix Belknap

Creator (Role)

Richard Houston (Mezzotinter)
1721-1775

Sir Joshua Reynolds (Painter)
1723-1792

Robert Sayer (Publisher)
1725-02//1794
Sayer became active as a printseller as early as the late 1740s. He built up his stock of copper plates by taking over others’ inventories, first Philip Overton, then James McArdell when he died in 1765. He worked in partnership with John Bennett from around 1774 to 1785, then operated alone again through 1793. When he died in February 1794, the firm (along with Sayer’s stock of plates) were taken over by another London print firm, Laurie & Whittle.

Place of Origin

London, London, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Date

1758-1775

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Inscription; Lower right; R.d Houston Fecit.
2. Inscription; Lower left; I. Reynolds pinxt 1758
3. Inscription; Lower center; Printed for & Sold by Rob.t Sayer, opposite Fetter Lane Fleet Street

Subjects

Portrait

Materials

Ink; Paper (laid)

Techniques

Mezzotint

Dimensions (inches)

13.8 (H) , 9.7 (W) , 13 (Image H) , 8.9 (Image W)

Dimensions (centimeters)

35 (H) , 24.7 (W) , 13 (Image H) , 8.9 (Image W)

Measurement Notes

Plate H: 13.1 in. (33.2 cm). Plate W: 9 in. (23 cm).

Publisher Summary

Sayer, Robert

Place of Publication

London, England, United Kingdom

State

III

Watermark

Unidentified

Edition Notes

State III, with Sayer's address. State II, with inscription: "Sold by R. Houston, near Drumond's Charing Cross." Late impression; design reinforced with etched lines.

Object Description

Text available soon.

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Smith, John Chaloner. 1884 British Mezzotinto Portraits; Being a Descriptive Catalogue of These Engravings from the Introduction of the Art to the early part of the present century. 2. 461-940.
• See p.645, no.1
[Book] Hamilton, Edward. 1884 The Engraved Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds.
• p. 78
[Book] The British Museum, et al. Catalogue of Engraved British Portraits Preserved in the Department of Prints and Drawings.
• p. 45