Cobham Hall, Kent, Antique Morris Woodblock Print, circa 1870

About this sheet

Two building periods meet in this antique print of Cobham Hall, Kent, printed in color by Benjamin Fawcett for Morris's Picturesque Views of Seats, circa 1870. The country house view shows a long Elizabethan red brick front bracketed at either end by tall octagonal towers, each capped with a domed cupola, giving strong vertical accents at both edges of the sheet.

At the center, a later classical portico with columns and a pediment is set against the older brick range, the portico printed in a slightly cooler stone tone against the warmer red of the flanking wings. The brick itself is built from at least two shades of red, deeper in the shadowed recesses and lighter and warmer on the sunlit wall surfaces, giving the elevation real relief. The lawn in the foreground is left open, a group of trees closes the view at the right, and the sky is kept light and only lightly clouded, so the horizontal sweep of the facade is the clear subject.

William Mackenzie of London published A Series of Picturesque Views of Seats of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland from the 1860s to the 1880s, edited by the Reverend Francis Orpen Morris (1810 to 1893), the clergyman and naturalist of History of British Birds fame; this plate is from an issue of circa 1870. Benjamin Fawcett (1808 to 1893) of Driffield, among the finest color woodblock printers of the Victorian period, printed each color from its own block in register; the color is printed rather than applied by hand.

This antique print of Cobham Hall, Kent, is an original Victorian plate removed from the book, ready for framing, and a fine choice for owners and admirers of the house or collectors of English country house views. The sheet has generous, untrimmed margins, with the title Cobham Hall set in small capitals beneath 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 faint crease near the lower right edge 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.