| Method | Lithograph with hand colouring |
| Artist | after Thomas Baines |
| Published | Day & Son, Lithrs. to the Queen. London, Published May 1st 1852 by Ackermann & Co. 96 Strand. |
| Dimensions | Image 325 x 480 mm, Sheet 372 x 532 mm |
| Notes |
A rare view of Grahamstown, now known as Makhanda, South Africa, plate 2 in Thomas Baines' Scenery and events in South Africa, published in 1852. The view shows the town spread out across the valley below, the new colonially built buildings contrasting against the green rolling hills. In the foreground three African figures can be seen sat on the hillside, one smoking a pipe. Thomas Baines (1820 - 1875) was an English artist and explorer. Born in King's Lynn, Baines left England for South Africa aged 22. He worked as a scenic and portrait artist in Cape Town before becoming an official war artist for the British Army documenting parts of the Eighth Frontier War. Baines joined the Royal Geographical Society's 1855-57 expedition across northern Australia to explore the Victoria River district as the official artist. He was highly commended for his work during this expedition with Mount Baines and the Baines River being named in his honour. Baines accompanied David Livingstone in 1858 during his expedition along the Zambezi, and is believed to be one of the first white men to view Victoria Falls. Baines was also involved in the first gold prospecting expeditions to the area that later became Rhodesia. Baines is best known for his sketches and detailed paintings of colonial lands during the height of the British Empire and exploration. The firm of Day & Haghe was one of the most prominent lithographic companies of the nineteenth-century. They were also amongst the foremost pioneers in the evolution of chromolithography. The firm was established in 1823 by William Day, but did not trade under the moniker of Day & Haghe until the arrival of Louis Haghe in 1831. In 1838, Day & Haghe were appointed as Lithographers to the Queen. However, and perhaps owing to the fact that there was never a formal partnership between the two, Haghe left the firm in the 1850's to devote himself to watercolour painting. The firm continued as Day & Son under the guidance of William Day the younger (1823 - 1906) but, as a result of a scandal involving Lajos Kossuth, was forced into liquidation in 1867. Vincent Brookes bought the company in the same year, and would produce the caricatures for Gibson Bowles' Vanity Fair magazine, as well as the illustrations for Cassells's Poultry Book, amongst other commissions. Condition: Some light spots of foxing to sheet. Some areas of thinning to paper on verso. Crease to left hand side of sheet. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £600.00 |
| Stock ID | 52987 |