La Cardeuse
Etching, 1855-56, Delteil 15, Melot 15, only state. 10 1/4 x 7 in. A superb, early impression well before the reprints by Frederick Keppel. Printed on antique green-grey laid paper without watermark. Full margins. Ex-collection: C.W. Dowdeswell (Lugt 690) and Kennedy Galleries, New York. Fine condition.
SOLD

Man Leaning on a Spade (L'homme Appuye sur sa Beche)
Etching, before 1848, Melot 3, Delteil 3; only state. Edition unknown. 3 1/4 x 2 11/16 in. Unsigned as usual. This fine, crisp impression is printed on medium Japanese paper. The margins are full measuring about 1" to 1 3/4" all around. The condition is excellent. This appealing, early work by Millet foreshadows his larger more detailed work of similar peasant subjects shown laboring in the fields. The edition sizes of Millet etchings are generally unknown.
$1,850

Woman Carding Wool (La Cardeuse)
Etching, 1855-56, Delteil 15, Melot 15; edition unknown. 10 1/16 x 6 7/8 in. Unsigned as usual. This is a very fine impression printed with plate tone, probably before the posthumous Keppel reprints from around 1900 and later. The margins are full and the paper is most likely a late 18th or early 19th century laid with a greenish tint. (There's a large indecipherable watermark possibly of a bear.) Fine condition. This memorable image relates to a painting and a few drawings by Millet. There's only one state to this print and most impressions were printed by Frederick Keppel, the New York dealer. He printed many impressions on a cream oriental paper. (Note: A very good source for connoisseurship of Millet prints (and Meryon prints) is, Etchings of Urban and Rural 19th Century France, edited by Patricia Phagan with essays by William Eiland and S. William Pelletier, published by the Georgia Museum of Art, 1993. Pelletier was an astute collector of Meryon and Millet etchings and his detailed comments about the impressions in the show are most helpful.
$2,500