Author: HOWITT, Samuel
Title: [Fox Hunting]
Description: London: S. Fores, 1794-99. An Early and Rare Series of Hand-Colored Aquatint Fox Hunting Prints From the Celebrated Collections of Clarence S. Bement and Joseph Widener HOWITT, Samuel. Fox Hunting. London: S. Fores, 1794-99. First issue of these six hand colored aquatint plates, designed and engraved by Howitt. Each imprinted: “Pub. Nov 1st, 1794 by S.W. Fores No 3 Piccadilly,” excepting Plate Number 4 which is imprinted “Pub Jan 1 1799 by S.W. Fores No 50 Piccadilly.” Oblong folio. Prints 10 3/8 x 12 1/2 inches, mounted on 12 x 16 3/8 inch stock. Plate number 3 slightly foxed, plate number 5 with a slight expert marginal repair, and "Sporting Views" in early ink on verso. Bound by Zaehnsdorf ca. 1900 in three quarter red morocco over red pebbled cloth ruled in gilt. Smooth spine decoratively tooled and lettered horizontally in gilt, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. With the bookplates of Clarence S. Bemens and Joseph Widener on front paste-down. A most distinguished provenance. "An early and rare series of fox hunting prints. These are without titles, with the exception of plate 4 which is captioned “At Fault”. The other plates displaying a verse by Thomson beneath each. This apparently is a made-up set. With the Clarence S. Bement bookplate." (Widener auction catalog). Plate IV, "At Fault", is actually from Howitt's 1799 series, Hare Hunting. The prints here are not trimmed; the examples examined by Siltzer were slightly smaller at 9 1/2 x 12 7/8 inches. These prints not found in the British Museum's prints and drawings collection database. Samuel Howitt (c. 1765-1822) "was a country gentleman and a practical sportsman, obliged by financial difficulties to take up art as a profession. His early work consisted of drawings in the stained manner, but he became a painter both in oil and water-colours as well as an engraver, usually choosing his subjects from sport or natural history" (Prideaux). He "was brother in law to the famous Thomas Rowlandson, whose direct influence can be seen-Howitt had exquisite taste and produced the designs for some of the best sporting prints-With Rowlandson and George Morland, Howitt was responsible for some of the earliest of the coloured sporting prints" (Wilder, English Sporting Prints, p.157. 'He has bequeathed to us some-delightful aquatints, many of which he not only designed, but engraved, too, and for these he deserves out gratitude-There are distinguishing traits about all his work. His colourists appear to be anonymous; he may quite possibly have coloured most of the fine plates himself, but, however that may be, the result is excellent, and with the well-contrived grouping and the perfect blending of the ochres and browns we get a mise-en-scène which we are not slow to endow with the compliment of 'very fine British Sporting Prints.' -The writer notices the increasing attention of fine Howitt prints in the market. Public taste, in pictorial sport- has vastly improved-the collector demands the best, appreciates the best, more often than not he has the knowledge that enables him to choose, and, what is still more practical, he is prepared to back his taste with money" (Siltzer). The Plates: I. "Give ye Britons then." II. "Him from his craggy winding haunts." III. "Throw the broad ditch behind you. IV. At Fault. V. "And o'er the lawn in fancy, swallowing up the space between." VI. "For happy he who tops the wheeling chase, Who saw the villain seized and dying hard." Provenance: Parke-Bernet, Widener Sale, Nov. 29, 1944, lot 242. Bobins III. 1182; Siltzer, p. 163. .

Keywords: Hunting Sports Horses


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