Portrait of a Gentleman with a Mustache, Engraving, circa 1890
€ 145
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1890
Mapmaker / artist
Monogram R (engraver, not otherwise named)
Publisher
Not named on the sheet
Technique
Engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Sheet size
24 × 17 cm (9.4 × 6.7 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14343-24
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Good condition for its age. Scattered small foxing spots to the margins; a small pale spot within the plate mark at lower right, clear of the portrait. Please review the images for further condition details.
About this sheet
An original late nineteenth century engraved portrait of a gentleman, printed on a large sheet of heavy wove paper with a deep plate mark and generous margins. The sitter is not named on the sheet.
He is shown half length, turned to the right with his eyes looking off to the side, his thick gray hair brushed back from a high forehead and a full, upturned mustache over the mouth. He wears a dark lounge jacket over a waistcoat, a white shirt with a turned down collar and a black bow tie, and a watch chain and pencil show at the waistcoat. The portrait is vignetted, fading softly into the paper at the edges, with a light ground of fine lines behind the head.
The only lettering is a small monogram "R" at the right edge of the image, the mark of the engraver or of the source. There is no title, publisher or date. The dress, with its short jacket and soft collar, and the vignetted, finely worked manner point to the years around 1890, when portraits of this kind were issued as separate plates or in illustrated portfolios across Europe.
The engraving rewards close looking. The face is built up from short flicked lines and fine stipple that model the furrowed brow, the heavy eyelids and the weathered cheeks, while the hair and mustache are drawn with longer, freer strokes. The broad margins and the crisp plate mark show that the sheet was printed with care on good paper.
Unnamed portraits of this quality are collected for the character of the face and the skill of the hand, and this one, with its direct, lively expression, would look handsome in a study or library, framed with a wide mat that keeps the plate mark visible. It also groups well with other late nineteenth century portraits.
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.
