There are, besides those described, a number of English book-plates
which in style much resemble Bartolozzi's work. If they are his, they
probably date before 1796, for the adoption of the publication formula,
before noticed, makes it improbable that he executed any work, whilst in
England, that he did not thus protect. After his departure from this
country, he produced, from a drawing by Signeira, a book-plate for Sir
Thomas Gage, Bart., of Hengrave Hall, Suffolk. In this, a female figure
sits upon a stone, against which is a plain shield bearing the Gage
arms. The plate is signed 'Bartolozzi, Lisbon, 1805.' There is a
distinct resemblance in this book-plate to that which was engraved,
either in 1786 or 1787, for Richard Hoare, eldest son of the Lord Mayor
of London. He was created a baronet in the former year, and died in the
latter. In this we have a seated female, classically draped, who rests
her left elbow on a cippus, on which is engraved a shield bearing the
arms of Hoare. Richard Hoare married the heiress of Stourhead, and his
son was Sir Richard Colt Hoare, the famous antiquary and author. The
date at which this plate must have been executed, 1786 or 1787, does not
allow the absence of the engraver's name and formula of publication to
tell against the work being Bartolozzi's; his fame was not then so
great, and he found it less necessary to protect his engravings from
piracy (see p. 197).
Beautiful as are Bartolozzi's book-plates, it cannot be said that his
capabilities as a designer or an engraver are demonstrated in these;
works of a larger kind showed forth his talents far more.
So, then, allegory at length came to be almost popular with English
book-plate owners, and various lesser artists--Henshaw, Roe, Pollard,
and some others--produced it in imitation of Bartolozzi, with only
indifferent success. But before ending this chapter, we must say
something about the book-plate work of Bartolozzi's chief English pupil,
John Keys Sherwin. In 1773, the year after he gained the Royal Academy's
gold medal for drawing, he executed an extremely pretty Allegoric
book-plate for John Mitford of Pitt's Hill. It represents an infant
Neptune, with his trident, seated on a large shell, which is upon the
back of a sea-horse. Young Neptune's drapery forms a graceful canopy,
and he supports in his right hand a small shell, which displays the
Mitford arms and crest. A dolphin, spouting water in fountain-like
sprays, swims by his side. There are two states of this plate, one
having the arms incorrectly shaded: both are signed by Sherwin.
In closing our remarks on English book-plates, designed after this
fashion, notice--though only a passing one, for it is spoken of fully
later on--must be taken of the charming book-plate which Agnes Berry
designed in 1793 for her friend Mrs. Damer. I mention it here only to
associate it in the reader's mind with 'Allegoric' book-plates.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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