Grosvenor Prints

Just in case you missed it our new listing for the is here! This catalogue celebrates Grosvenor Prints trading in Covent Garden for 40 years.  It contains over 100 interesting & curious items, contains a  selection of satire , UK & foreign topography , portraits , natural history , sports and pastimes , decorative scenes and of course ephemera .  We have a few highlights we think are worth bringing to your attention. See below for some images to whet your appetite: [Printer] 1891-2. Christmas Cards and New Year Cards. A Very Large Assortment on Sale, consisting of Choice New Designs, including Hand-Painted, Ivorine, Satin, and other Novelties, From 1d. to 1/6 each. Really Good Value. Geo, Mills, (established 1857) Manufacturing and Export Stationer, Lithographer & Printer, 3, Old Jewry, London, E.C. [1891]. Tinted lithograph of five colours. Sheet 240 x 330mm (9½ x 13"). A little staining on right

Just in case you missed it our new listing for the ABA Chelsea Rare Book Fair is here! This catalogue of over 400 interesting & curious items, contains a large selection of satire , UK & foreign topography , portraits , natural history , sporting , decorative scenes and of course ephemera .  Highlights to look out for are a beautiful mezzotint portrait of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar II I   and some wonderful animal etchings by A. Radclyffe Dumore. See below for some images to whet your appetite:   [Fencing.] Tabula I. J. Gelle Collonien sculp: [Leiden: B. & A. Elzevir: 1630.] Large engraving. 490 x 700mm (15¾ x 27½"), with large margins. Tear at top, two creases as normal. Small margins. A plate from Gerard Thibault's 'L'académie de l'espée', illustrating the geometry that the author considered of utmost importance in sword fighting. Of particular interest is the use of Thibault's 'mysterio

Our Autumn listing has arrived! In this months listing we have a selection of early portraits varying from stipples to mezzotints most notably the Beauties of Windsor and Napole o n's death mask . Additionally we have natural history prints , sporting items and decorative scenes . Highlights to look out for are Archibald Thorburn's game birds and Spencer's portraits of Racehorses. See below for some images to whet your appetite: The Most Noble George Grenville Nugent Temple, Marquis of Buckingham, K.G. &c. &c. &c. Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum of the County of Bucks. From the Original painted as a Mark of Respect to his Memory for the Magistrates of the County. J. Jackson A.R.A. pinxit. Wm. Ward ARA sculpt Engraver to their R.H. the Prince Regent & the Duke of York. Printed by J. Lahee. [n.d. c.1813-1826.] Mezzotint. Plate 656 xc 406mm (25¾ x 16"). Tear at top. Small margins. Missing top left border.

Satire is here. It's that time again and our August listing is up and ready to go! This time we have focussed purely on satire. With familiar faces within the catalogue including Rowlandson, Gillray and Cruikshank, we are sure you will find something of your liking.    Below are just a couple of highlights from this listing. Elements of Skating This playful set of four, is finely coloured series of etchings after James Gillray around 1809. Depicting the fun times spent on the Ice in London, it has contemporary step by step take on how to Ice Skate.  £690.00   [ Ref: 52335 ]    The European Race Heat The European Race heat is a showcase of the anthropomorphic countries rallying into line due to the unwillingness of Walpole's Government to go to war. This was one of his main policies of his 20 years as Prime Minister. The engraving has been trimmed to the plate and the paper has an 18th century watermark. £480.00

It's National Girlfriend's Day! The Bosom Friends  To celebrate National Girlfriends Day, this satirical social piece on the fashion of women in the 1780's. Published by S.W Fores, the coloured etching is a scarce depiction of ladies popular fashion of the bosoms. A style typically worn to entice the opposite sex, is described here for the amusement of the men!  Have a look at our twitter page here.

 A very Happy Birthday to Harry Potter from Grosvenor Prints. Travestissemens. No.7. Magicienne . To celebrate both Harry Potter and J.K Rowling's birthday, we thought we would search through our collection to find something of interest for you Hogwart's fans out there.  This rare engraving is a hand coloured example showing a female magician preforming. The costume is decorated with the devil, snakes and daggers, typical symbolism attached to female magicians of the time. As well as associations with Witchcraft. Published for the series 'Travestissemens' by La Mèsangère between 1827 and 1830. Follow our Instagram to see daily posts about our stock. 

A mezzotint is a printing method developed in the 17th century. Most prints of this nature have a soft gradation of tone as well as rich, velvety blacks, which is unique to the method. How they are made; 1) The print maker would take typically a copper or steel sheet, and indent the surface with small pits. The instrument used looks like a toothed metal knuckle duster. These pits hold the ink, if printed now the paper would be completely black. 2) To create the soft graduation of tone, the plate will now by burnished to smooth the surface. This lessens the plates ink holding ability. This method creates the iconic dark and light tones. This method was highly popular to reproduce painted portraits, notably Reynolds'  sitters. Below are some examples form our website. The Princes in the Tower. Painted by John Everett Millais R.A. Engraved by Samuel Cousins R.A. London Published 16th March 1879 by The Fine Art Society (Limited) 146, New Bond Street. Mezzotint.

Our newest catalogue is out now! The listing includes a small collection of Herbert Dicksee prints, ranging from domestic pets to wild species. They are beautiful black and white signed etchings. In addition to these, we have some 1720's wonderful engravings of the armorials of the 23 Colleges and Schools in Oxford University from Omersley Court and other very large full size armorials. There are also some excellent examples of overseas views including America, Africa and the Pacific as well as satire, ephemera etc. An e-catalogue of our Dicksee collection can be browsed on issuu .