The Entrance to Hyde Park on a Sunday, London, 1804

About this sheet

This is an original antique copper engraving, uncolored, lettered "The Entrance to Hyde Park, on a Sunday." Carriages drawn by pairs and teams of horses crowd the drive into the park, riders canter beside them and more horsemen stream along the railed road toward the trees beyond. In the foreground pedestrians of every sort fill the open ground: gentlemen in tailcoats, women in white gowns, children, a dog and figures on the left in military dress. A brick lodge stands at the left edge, and open parkland with clumps of trees and a distant lake stretches into the background.

The title is engraved in script below the image. The artist's credit "Pugh delt" is at lower left and the engraver's credit "Pass sculp." at lower right. The imprint above the image reads "Published Augt 11-1804 by Richard Phillips. 71. St Pauls' Church Yard."

The plate comes from Modern London; Being the History and Present State of the British Metropolis, printed for Richard Phillips, No. 71, St. Paul's Church-Yard, by C. Mercier and Co., Northumberland-court, Strand, in 1804, and "illustrated with numerous copper plates." Many of its topographical views were drawn by Edward Pugh, a Welsh painter working in London, and engraved on copper by several London engravers, each of whom signed his own plate. On Sundays Hyde Park was the place where fashionable London drove and rode to be seen, and Pugh crowds the scene with carriages, horses and walkers.

Lively and full of movement, it would suit a room with an equestrian or London theme.

Condition: Light wear to the bottom right corner. Age toning; handling soiling along the edges and foxing with some brown staining in the margins. Printed image clean.

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.