Charles Mackay, Scottish Poet and Journalist, Steel Engraving, circa 1875

About this sheet

A steel engraved portrait of the Scottish poet, songwriter and journalist Charles Mackay, shown in later life. He is seen half length and turned to the right, with long, swept back gray hair, a dark coat with a velvet collar and a loosely tied bow at the neck, set against a finely ruled background within a single ruled border. Beneath the image is his facsimile signature, "Chas Mackay", the only lettering on the sheet; no artist, engraver or publisher is named.

Charles Mackay (1814 to 1889) was born in Perth and worked as a journalist in London and Glasgow, where he edited the Glasgow Argus, before joining the Illustrated London News, which he later edited. His songs, among them "Cheer! Boys, Cheer!", were sung across the English speaking world, and during the American Civil War he reported from New York for The Times. He is best remembered today for Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, first published in 1841, a study of financial bubbles and mass manias that has never gone out of print and is still quoted whenever markets lose their heads.

The engraver has worked the face in fine stipple, which gives the skin its softness, and the clothing and background in line, the usual division of labor in the best portrait plates of the period. Presenting an eminent sitter with a facsimile signature in place of a printed caption was a favorite device of the biographical portrait galleries of the eighteen seventies, and the sitter's age, about sixty, points to a date around 1875.

It is a quietly handsome portrait, well suited to a study or library, and of special interest to readers of Mackay's book on popular delusions, to collectors of Scottish literary portraits and to anyone drawn to the history of financial manias.

Condition: Good condition for its age. Even toning and light soiling; soft handling creases to the upper edge and a faint diagonal crease in the lower right margin, clear of the image. 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.