| Method | Mezzotint |
| Artist | Robert Laurie after Johann Conrad Seekatz |
| Published | London, Printed for Rob.t Sayer, No.53 Fleet Street, as the Act directs, 1st. Feb.y 1772. |
| Dimensions | Image 310 x 250 mm, Plate 350 x 252 mm, Sheet 385 x 263 mm |
| Notes |
A very scarce eighteenth century mezzotint of a print seller peddling his wears to a family outside their rural dwelling. The print merchant displays his print collection on a roller held around his neck, with further prints stored in a tube on his back. The potential customers in the foreground are inspecting a portrait of Frederick the Great, who proclaimed himself King of Prussia in the year this print was published. This print was originally issued as a pair to 'A German ballad seller', both of these mezzotints were copied from engravings published by Denis Charles Buldet and Christian von Mechel. 'The Print Merchant' derives from Antoine Louis Romanet's engraving 'Le marchand de village' of 1766. The title reflects the fact that the painter Seekatz was German and that the scene was therefore assumed to be set in Germany. Robert Laurie (c.1755-1836) was a British engraver, mezzotint artist, and publisher. In 1776, he was awarded a prize by the Society of Arts for the invention of a method of producing colour-printed mezzotints. Laurie succeeded the publisher Robert Sayer after the latter's death in 1794, and, in partnership with James Whittle, continued Sayer's prolific and well-established business on the Fleet Street, issuing prints, maps, illustrated books, charts, and nautical works. Following Laurie's retirement in 1812, Whittle continued in business with his former partner's son, Richard Holmes Laurie, who gained sole ownership of the business in 1818 with the death of Whittle. Johann Conrad Seekatz (1719-1768) was the most prominent of a dynasty of German painters, from 1753 he was a court painter in Darmstadt. Lennox-Boyd i/i Condition: Sheet slightly toned, manuscript '140' in top margin. Occasional small spots to bottom of image and slight thinning to shoulder of the print merchant. Light crease to top left of image. Old framing tape to top verso. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £1,200.00 |
| Stock ID | 52287 |