Sir Robert Peel, Prime Minister, after Lawrence, Steel Engraving, circa 1870
€ 145
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1870
Mapmaker / artist
Sir Thomas Lawrence (painter), W. Holl (engraver)
Publisher
William Mackenzie, Glasgow, Edinburgh, London and New York
Technique
Steel engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Sheet size
28 × 18 cm (11.0 × 7.1 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14343-8
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. Light toning, a few tiny specks and a faint pencil number to the lower margin. The image is clean and bright. Please review the images for further condition details.
About this sheet
An original steel engraved portrait of Sir Robert Peel, lettered beneath the image "Sir Robert Peel Bart." and published by William Mackenzie, whose imprint reads "William Mackenzie, Glasgow, Edinburgh, London & New York." The engraver's line under the image reads "Engraved by W. Holl from an original Cabinet Picture by Sir Thos. Lawrence in the Possession of F. J. Hamel Esq."
Peel is shown half length against a dark ground, turned slightly to the left, with his curling fair hair, a high white collar, a black stock tied at the throat and a dark coat with a broad collar. The face is modeled in fine stipple and line, and the background is laid in close engraved lines that deepen around the figure.
Sir Robert Peel (1788 to 1850) was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in 1834 to 1835 and again from 1841 to 1846. As Home Secretary he created the Metropolitan Police in 1829, whose officers are still called bobbies after him, and as Prime Minister he repealed the Corn Laws in 1846, splitting his party. Sir Thomas Lawrence, the leading English portrait painter of his day, painted Peel more than once, and William Holl the younger was among the most accomplished portrait engravers of the period.
William Mackenzie of Glasgow was one of the busiest Victorian subscription publishers, issuing illustrated biographical dictionaries, histories and family books in parts, many of them with full page engraved portraits printed on separate leaves like this one. The New York address in the imprint points to a printing of about 1865 to 1880.
The plate is printed in black on a generous sheet with wide margins, which suits a narrow dark frame and a deep mat. It is a fine likeness of a central figure in nineteenth century British politics and would sit well in a study, a library or a collection of political 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.
