Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire, Antique Morris Woodblock Print, circa 1870

About this sheet

Two contrasting towers anchor this antique print of Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire, a color woodblock country house view from Morris's Picturesque Views of Seats, printed by Benjamin Fawcett circa 1870. A round tower with a conical roof stands toward the left of center and a square battlemented tower at the right, with a run of pointed Gothic windows and heavy ivy growth filling the wall between them.

The golden stone of the towers is kept relatively clean of ivy, so that the battlements and window tracery read clearly, while the lower connecting ranges disappear almost entirely beneath climbing plant growth, drawing the eye to the two towers as the architectural focus. Birds are printed in flight against a sky of soft gray-white cloud over pale blue. The open lawn in the foreground is treated plainly, without figures, deer or garden ornament, keeping the whole sheet focused on the silhouette of the castle against its sky.

Its source is A Series of Picturesque Views of Seats of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland, edited by the Reverend Francis Orpen Morris (1810 to 1893), naturalist and author of the History of British Birds, for the London publisher William Mackenzie, with drawings largely by Alexander Francis Lydon; this plate is from an issue of circa 1870. The color was printed from woodblocks by Benjamin Fawcett (1808 to 1893) of Driffield, who also printed Morris's bird books: a color wood engraving built from separate blocks in register, not hand colored.

Admirers of the house, anyone with ties to Cheshire and collectors of English country house views will enjoy this antique print of Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire, an original Victorian plate removed from the book and suitable for framing. The sheet retains wide, untrimmed margins, with the title Cholmondeley Castle lettered in small capitals below the image.

This antique print is in good condition for its age. The paper shows light toning consistent with age, together with a few small spots in the margins, a short split at one of the binding holes, and a line of binding holes along the lower edge, where the plate was once bound into the book. Please review the images for further condition details.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.