Category Archives: Woodcuts

A peep at the balloon

Posted on February 3, 2013 by mercedes-c

On Saturday, 7 July 1810, the Oxford-born chemist James Sadler (1753-1828) took part in the celebrations of the installation of the new Chancellor of the University by ascending in a balloon from Merton fields with his fourteen-year-old son, Windham. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Aerostation, Everyday life, London, Popular prints, Prints, Satirical prints, Science, Uncategorized, Woodcuts | Comments Off

A medley print

Posted on January 10, 2013 by mercedes-c

Medley prints like the one below really capture the sense of mixture, the hotchpotch quality, and the endless referencing that characterize Douce’s folders: Unlike the impression in the BM, Douce’s print bears the inscription ‘Designed, and Engraven, and Sold, by S: … Continue reading →

Posted in Ballads, Books, Colour, History of printmaking, Medley print, Prints, Woodcuts | Comments Off

Britannia Excisa

Posted on December 5, 2012 by mercedes-c

This satire on Robert Walpole’s 1733 Excise Bill was misplaced (maybe by Thomas Dodd, who did some rearranging after Douce’s death) and kept among Douce’s wood-engravings, which I have been cataloguing this week: The print has been cut from a … Continue reading →

Posted in Ballads, Broadsides, Collections and Collectors, Networks, Prints, Satirical prints, Tax, Woodcuts | Comments Off

The limping messenger

Posted on November 5, 2012 by mercedes-c

Douce’s illustrations from almanacs date from about the last quarter of the eighteenth century to the early 1830s. As is often the case with the part of his collection that remains arranged by subject, the images are taken out of … Continue reading →

Posted in Almanacs, Drawings, Everyday life, Popular prints, Wood-engravings, Woodcuts | Comments Off

“The best engraver on wood in Europe”

Posted on October 15, 2012 by mercedes-c

Douce’s interest in German prints was not limited to early woodcuts and engravings; it also encompassed the work of contemporary printmakers. Next to what seems to be a proof for a title-page, Douce wrote ‘Unger of Berlin, The best engraver … Continue reading →

Posted in History of printmaking, Literature, Prints, Wood-engravings, Woodcuts | Comments Off

Douce’s Baked Apple Pudding

Posted on October 5, 2012 by mercedes-c

I have just finished cataloguing Douce’s folders of woodcuts, which contain quite a few illustrations from late eighteenth-century and early nineteenth-century German almanacs. The autumn months are often represented by apple-picking: In one of his commonplace books, Douce wrote down … Continue reading →

Posted in Almanacs, Everyday life, Prints, Seasons, Uncategorized, Woodcuts, Zodiac | Comments Off

Spot the prawns

Posted on September 28, 2012 by mercedes-c

Like the print of Moses mentioned in my previous post, this woodcut of the Madonna del Gamberone from Douce’s collection was probably destined to be pinned to the walls of somebody’s home: The original painting is kept in a chapel … Continue reading →

Posted in Colour, Pilgrimage, Popular prints, Prints, Religion, Woodcuts | Comments Off

Douce’s Annunciation

Posted on September 11, 2012 by mercedes-c

When told of Douce’s acquisition of a View of Clifton Ferry with a Holiday Party and Bristol Fair by Rolinda Sharples (1793-1838), his friend George Cumberland wrote that they had been ‘sold at an auction to Mr Douce who knows nothing … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquaries, Collections and Collectors, Colour, Everyday life, History of printmaking, Paintings, Prints, Religion, Woodcuts | Comments Off

Sea-monsters and spinning sows

Posted on August 25, 2012 by mercedes-c

Douce collected a remarkable number of woodcuts published by the Antwerp-based book-seller Joannes Norbertus Vinck. They are mostly popular prints, often coloured (a bit coarsely) in yellow and red. My favourite is this bespectacled spinning sow: Although the theme of … Continue reading →

Posted in Colour, Festivals, Popular prints, Prints, Woodcuts | Comments Off

A festival book

Posted on July 25, 2012 by mercedes-c

Two weeks after my post on tournaments, I have come across a few more prints on this subject, kept in a different location. Among Douce’s ‘miscellaneous woodcuts’, there are five hand-coloured illustrations taken from Ordenliche Beschreybung der Fürstlichen Hochzeyt… (Augsburg, 1568) … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquaries, Collections and Collectors, Colour, Festivals, Prints, Romances, Woodcuts | Comments Off