About this sheet
This is an antique print of Hampton Court, Herefordshire, the country house of that name rather than the royal palace on the Thames, printed in color by Benjamin Fawcett for Morris's Picturesque Views of Seats, circa 1870. It is composed as a framed woodland view: a heavy oak branch arches across the top of the sheet and dense trees close in from both sides.
The castellated stone house is glimpsed through a natural opening in the foliage rather than shown as a full elevation. Small figures and grazing animals are visible on the open lawn between the trees and the house, and a stretch of valley and low hills is suggested in the distance, printed in pale, receding tones. This picturesque treatment, closer to a landscape than an architectural portrait, is one of the more consciously artistic arrangements in the series, and the dark overhanging branch sits convincingly in front of the paler sky and distant hills behind it.
The Reverend Francis Orpen Morris (1810 to 1893), best known for his History of British Birds, edited A Series of Picturesque Views of Seats of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland, published in London by William Mackenzie, with drawings largely by Alexander Francis Lydon, in an issue of circa 1870. Benjamin Fawcett (1808 to 1893) of Driffield, one of the great Victorian color woodblock printers, printed the plates from separate blocks in register, so the color here is printed, not hand colored.
As an original Victorian plate removed from the book, this antique print of Hampton Court, Herefordshire, is suitable for framing and popular with admirers of the house, with lovers of Herefordshire, and with collectors of English country house views. Margins are wide, and the title Hampton Court is 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 faint spots in the upper margin 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.
