John Sturt, “Videritis”, 1698

John Sturt (1658-1730)

“Videritis,” 1698

Please note that the large, highly ornate initial letter “V”—the first letter of “Videritis” (meaning “you will see”)—is a decorative cadel (or drop cap) in a dense, blackletter style. This flourish likely indicates that a student of handwriting was about to explore letter-forms that would enhance a scribe’s dexterity with a quill.

Technical Details & Condition:

Original engraving on watermarked laid paper with full margins as issued. This engraving is based on a design by John Ayres (fl. 1680–1700) and is an illustration in Ayres’ “A Tutor to Penmanship,” a two-part copybook published in London in 1698, with a dedication to King William III. 

The designs in the copybook were crafted for Ayres’ instruction in the art of fine penmanship, conducted at “Hand and Pen” near St. Paul’s Churchyard in London. 

This plate and the publication can be viewed online at: https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1641-1700_a-tutor-to-penmanship_ayres-john_1698/page/n47/mode/2up.

The impression is strong and well-printed. The sheet has surface marks but remains in good condition, with no tears, holes, folds, or significant stains.

Dimensions: 

• Sheet: 23.5 x 35.3 cm
• Platemark: 19.9 x 32.1 cm

Price & Shipping:

AU$242 (approximately US$171.12 / €148.78 / £128.60), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this exceptionally rare and remarkable example of 17th-century engraved penmanship, please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.

This print has been sold

John William Lewin, “Sandpiper,” 1793

John William Lewin (1770–1819) — the first free artist to settle in New South Wales, Australia, and the first printmaker in the colony (see https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG35701)

“Sandpiper,” or “Dunlin” (as titled in the plate), 1793 

The name “Dunlin” is the common English term derived from the 16th-century word “dunling,” where “dun” means dull brown and “-ling” is a diminutive suffix—essentially meaning “little brown one.” 

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on wove paper with the original hand-colouring of publication and full margins as issued. This plate is number 177, facing page 26, in the sixth volume (of eight) of Lewin’s “The Birds of Great Britain Systematically Arranged, Accurately Engraved, and Painted from Nature…”, published by Joseph Johnson (1738–1809) in London in 1795. 

Archive.org offers an online view of the publication, providing context for this print and its accompanying description: https://archive.org/details/BirdsGreatBritaVI/page/177/mode/1up.

This is an exceptionally fine impression, with vivid original hand-colouring that has been sensitively applied and remains unfaded. The sheet is in pristine condition, free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, or signs of handling.

Dimensions: 

• Sheet: 34 x 23.3 cm
• Platemark: 17.4 x 13.7 cm

Numbered and Lettered on Plate: 

• Upper right corner: “177”
• Lower centre: “DUNLIN. I.W. Lewin, del.et.sculp._Published as the Act directs, Nov.7. 1793.”

Price & Shipping:

AU$244 (approximately US$171.02 / €149.37 / £129.02), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this delicate and beautifully coloured etching, which captures a Sandpiper in a tense moment of alertness as it seems to examine the viewer, ready for a quick escape—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.

Philippe Louis Parizeau, Pair of Etchings on a Single Sheet, 1771, after Louis Félix de la Rue

Philippe Louis Parizeau (1740–1801)

Pair of Etchings on a Single Sheet 

• Left Plate: “Two Nymphs Embracing,” 1771
• Right Plate: “Two Nymphs with an Urn” (aka “The Source”), 1771

Technical Details & Condition:

Pair of etchings printed on a single sheet of fine laid paper, featuring the “Vimal Auvergne” watermark—an esteemed paper known for its absorbent qualities, which hold ink tones beautifully, and its robustness despite being very thin.

Both etchings are from a series of 12 plates, printed on 6 sheets, titled “Sujets d'Histoire et de Mythologie” (Subjects of History and Mythology). Published in Paris, these works are based on neoclassical drawings by Louis Félix de la Rue (aka Louis Félix Delarue, 1731–1765). The plates are numbered with “12” on the left and “11” on the right, inscribed on each respective plate. 

Both impressions are strong, well-printed, and exhibit excellent detail. The sheet is in near-pristine condition for its age, free from tears, holes, folds, or significant stains. 

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 25.5 x 36.8 cm
• Platemark of Plate 12 (left): 21.7 x 9.7 cm
• Platemark of Plate 11 (right): 21.7 x 10.3 cm

Plate Lettering (inscriptions on both plates):

• On lower pedestal (left): “L f La Rue inv”
• On lower pedestal (right): “Ph L Parizeau 1771”

References:

•  Victoria & Albert Museum:  https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O744842/deferentes-compositions-dapres-les-dessins-print-parizeau-philippe-louis/
• Chairish: https://www.chairish.com/product/3692477
• 1stDIBS: https://www.1stdibs.com/art/prints-works-on-paper/figurative-prints-works-on-paper/philippe-louis-parizeau-sujets-dhistoire-et-de-mythologie-original-etching-p-l-parizeau-1771/id-a_4615372

Price & Shipping:

AU$278 (approximately US$194.08 / €169.90 / £146.80), including worldwide express shipping.
Please note: Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this rare pair of etchings on their original, well-preserved, and untrimmed sheet—remarkably exemplifying the transition from Rococo to Neoclassicism—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.  

This pair of prints has been sold

Karl Bodmer, “Intérieur de Forêt”, 1851

Karl Bodmer (1809–1893)

“Intérieur de Forêt” (Forest Interior), 1851 (published 1853)

Technical Details & Condition:

Lithograph on chine collé (China paper) on heavy wove paper, with full margins as issued. This lithograph is based on a painting by the artist (Karl Bodmer) and was printed in Paris by Victor Jacques Bertauts (1810–1881), renowned for his skill in tonal printing (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG19418).

It is plate 65 from the second of three volumes of “Les Artistes Anciens et Modernes”, which contains a total of 144 plates. The print bears the publisher’s blind-stamp below the image: “Les Artistes / Anciens / Et Modernes.” Additionally, this impression has a small, pale tan collector’s mark (not listed in Lugt) beneath the blind-stamp. 

The impression is richly inked, strong, and well-preserved. The sheet shows minor surface marks in the margins and a pencil inscription from a previous collector in the lower margin. Aside from these minor issues, the sheet is in very good condition, with no tears, holes, folds, or significant stains. 

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 44.6 x 31.4 cm
• Platemark: 31.5 x 20.2 cm

Plate lettering below the image borderline:

• Left: “K. Bodmer, pinx. et lith./ Intérieur de Forêt.”
• Right: “Imp. Bertauts, Paris.”

References:

•  IFF 21 (Jean Laren & Jean Adhémar, “Inventaire du Fonds Français après 1800: BOCQVIN–BYON”, 1942, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Département des Estampes, vol. 3, p. 20, cat. no. 21 [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5488545z/f29.item])
• Delteil 87 (Loys Delteil in “L'Artiste; Revue de l'Art Contemporaine,” vol. 8, 1894, Paris, p. 141, cat. no. 87 [https://archive.org/details/lartisterevuedel89pariuoft/page/141/mode/1up])
• British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1936-0302-15-18

Price & Shipping:

AU$258 (approximately US$180.17 / €157.72 / £136.25), including worldwide express shipping.
Please note: Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this dramatic lithograph depicting a hunter and his dog stalking a group of deer—note how Bodmer captures the scene’s tension through spotlighting and the looming trees—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase. 

This print has been sold