The Cowgate, Edinburgh
JAMES MCBEY
Scottish, (1883-1959)
Etching, 1904-05, Hardie/Carter 33, edition 26. 8 x 5 in. Signed and dated in the plate, upper left. Signed and numbered "XIX" in ink. This is a fine, dark impression of this rare early work. The paper is a fine antique laid and the margins are full. Fine condition apart from an extremely faint suggestion of an old adhesive on the verso. The Cowgate is a very old street dating from the 15th century, not far from Edinburgh Castle.
SOLD

Omval
JAMES MCBEY
Scottish, (1883-1959)
Etching, 1910, Hardie/Carter 78, edition 78. 4 3/4 x 6 1/2 in. Signed, titled and dated in the plate, lower right. Signed and numbered in ink. This is a stunning, beautifully inked impression of this uncommon print. The margins are full and there's an illegible watermark running vertically along the left side. The condition is fine. This early work relates closely to Rembrandt's 1645 etching by the same title. In Rembrandt's version, the tree is on the other side of the composition and there's a standing figure.
SOLD

Venetian Night
JAMES MCBEY
Scottish, (1883-1959)
Etching, 1925, Hardie/Carter 254; edition 81 plus 18 trial proofs. 10 7/8 x 16 5/8 in. Signed and dated in the plate. Signed and numbered in ink. This is a fine, luminous impression printed on a greenish blue paper with the top edge irregular. The sheet was originally bound into a book or volume of some kind. The margins are modest but this appears to be the full sheet as printed. The condition is fine apart from a slight mat line from an early mat opening. This memorable work is one of McBey's very best prints and it's a landmark image for early 20th century British printmaking. Venetian Night is illustrated on page 65 of Great Images of British Printmaking by Raymond Lister (1978).
SOLD

Molo
JAMES MCBEY
Scottish, (1883-1959)
Etching, 1928, Hardie/Carter 239, edition 80 plus 12 trial proofs. 12 3/8 x 9 1/4 in. Signed and dated in the plate, lower left. Signed and numbered in ink. This is a superb, luminous impression printed on laid paper with the watermark LOTTERY. The margins are full and the condition is excellent. This is a view of the Molo from the Balcony of the Doges' Palace.
$1,800

Rio dei Greci
JAMES MCBEY
Scottish, (1883-1959)
Etching, 1926, Hardie/Carter 228, edition 80 plus 11 trial proofs. 10 3/8 x 6 5/8 in. Signed and dated in the plate. Signed and numbered in ink. This is a very fine impression printed with tone. The paper is a fine antique laid with the watermark 1818. The margins are full and the condition is fine. In the background is a view of San Giorgio dei Greci, a Greek Orthodox church dating from the 16th century.
$1,400

La Galerie Notre Dame
CHARLES MERYON
French, (1821-1868)
Etching with engraving, 1853, Schneiderman 29 (iii/VI), Delteil-Wright 26 (iii/V); edition unknown. 11 x 6 7/8 in. Signed and dated in the plate. This is a superb, early, luminous impression of the very rare third state, before the the top borderline has been strengthened. The margins are full and the paper is a fine laid without a watermark. The condition is excellent other than for a modest little spot of discoloration in the lower margin and a tiny paper loss in the upper right corner of the sheet. This iconic image by Meryon is one of his finest prints. This impression is from the celebrated collection of Henri M. Petiet, Paris, and bears his stamp on the verso, lower left.
SOLD

L'Abside de Notre Dame (The Apse of Notre Dame)
CHARLES MERYON
French, (1821-1868)
Etching and drypoint, 1854, Scheiderman 45 (vi/IX), Delteil/Wright 38 (v/VIII); edition unknown. 6 1/2 x 11 3/4 in. Signed in the plate, lower left, below the image. This is a superb, luminous impression printed on a beautiful sheet of thin china paper. The margins are wide and probably this is the full, untrimmed sheet. The condition is fine apart from slight, old toning (and thinning) from earlier hinges at the top corner edges of the sheet. This iconic Meryon print is from the celebrated collections of B.B. MacGeorge (Lugt 394) and J.J. Heywood (Lugt 1276). Their collector marks are not evident on the print itself but the original Knoedler label from the frame indicates this impression is # 38 in the landmark 1917 catalogue and exhibition of Meryon prints from the MacGeorge Collection. As described in the catalogue, MacGeorge owned five impressions of L'Abside de Notre Dame and this one is "(d) Fifth state, chine." This impression is also cited in Delteil/Wright in his entry for the fifth state, "Mr. MacGeorge also had a proof on thin india paper." In addition, there's an old pencil inscription on the bottom of the margin which reads, "from the Heywood collection." (The Knoedler inventory number on the label also appears in pencil on the bottom margin.) This is an exceptional 19th century French etching with impeccable provenance.
SOLD

L'Ancien Louvre, Paris (The Old Louvre, Paris, after Zeeman)
CHARLES MERYON
French, (1821-1868)
Etching, 1865-66, Schneiderman 96 (v/VI), Delteil-Wright (v/VI); edition unknown. 6 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. Unsigned. This is a fine impression printed on sturdy wove paper. The margins are wide. The condition is very good apart from toning along the top edge, verso, from an early adhesive and minor toning along the extreme bottom edge, verso. According to Delteil/Wright, "Meryon etched this plate from a painting by Zeeman in the Louvre, as a commission from the French Government, shortly before his second and final term in the asylum at Charenton, two years before his death. The etching was done on the back of the cancelled plate of the Petit Pont." This lifetime impression is from the collection of Alfred Morrison (Lugt 151). Morrison (1821-1897) was a prominent collector of his time.
SOLD

La Tour de l'Horloge (The Clock Tower)
CHARLES MERYON
French, (1821-1868)
Etching with engraving, 1852 and later, Schneiderman 23 (iv/X), Delteil-Wright iv/X); edition unknown. 10 1/4 x 7 1/4 in. Initialed in the plate, upper right. This is a superb, luminous impression on cream laid paper with the watermark "D & C BLAUW." The margins are good measuring about 3/4" on all sides. The condition is fine other than for a tiny, imperceptible pinhole/paper imperfection in the smoke between the clock tower and the first turret. This stellar impression is from the collection of Sir Francis Seymour Haden (Lugt 3938) with his pencil initials on front of the sheet, lower right. Delteil-Wright notes that Haden purchased a fifth state impression from Delâtre for the Victoria & Albert Museum in December, 1860.
SOLD

La Tour de l'Horloge (The Clock Tower)
CHARLES MERYON
French, (1821-1868)
Etching with engraving, 1852 and later, Scheiderman 23 (v/X); edition unknown. 10 1/4 x 7 1/4 in. Initialed in the plate, upper right corner. This is a fine impression printed on white laid paper. There's a partial fleur de lis watermark not identified. The margins are probably full. The condition is fine apart from a trace of an old adhesive along the extreme top edge of the sheet, verso. In this, the fifth state, the horizontal line in the blank area at bottom has been removed. The susequent sixth state was printed in an edition of 600 for L'Artiste and that is inscribed in this blank are along the bottom. The catalogue lists twenty impressions mostly of which are in museum collections.
SOLD

Entrance to the French Capuchin Monastery in Athens (after Le Bas)
CHARLES MERYON
French, (1821-1868)
Etching, 1854, Schneiderman 50 (iii/III); edition unknown. 7 5/8 x 4 7/8 in. Signed in the plate, lower left. This is a fine, rich impression printed with plate tone. The margins are somewhat narrow and the condition is fine. (There's a faint suggestion of an earlier mat line.) This print was published in "Athens aux XVe, XVIe et XVIIe Siècles" by Count Léon Laborde (1854).
$1,500

La Rue des Toiles à Bourges
CHARLES MERYON
French, (1821-1868)
Etching, 1853, Schneiderman 31 (v/IX), Delteil-Wright 55 (v/IX), edition unknown. 8 1/2 x 4 3/4 in. Signed and dated in the plate with the printed signature and date, lower left. This is a stellar, rich impression with wide margins. The condition is fine. Ex-collection: Mrs. M.J. Morgan (Lugt 1879) wife of the New York banker.
$4,000

Fantasy, A Group of figures
SAMUEL JESSURUN DE MESQUITA
Dutch, (1868-1944)
Etching, 1927, Van Es D121, edition 15. 6 x 9 3/4 in. Signed and numbered in pencil. this is a superb impression with full margins. The condition is excellent. This is a nice example of Mesquita's "sensitivic" caricature etching style which began about 1910 and lasted until 1940. He produced these works in small editions and they were done primarily for fun but they also often have mystical and religious overtones and are ripe with social commentary. They are unique in the history of Dutch art and are an important aspect of Mesquita's graphic work.
SOLD

Paysage Feocial
HENRI MEUNIER
Belgian, (1873-1922)
Etching with aquatint, 1901, edition unknown. 10 1/8 x 15 3/8 in. Signed and dated in the plate and signed in pencil below the image at right. A superb, atmospheric impression in very good condition. Full margins. Minor soft handling creases in the margin at right. This stunning landscape with castle is a fine example of style and technical finesse from the early 20th century
$675

Man Leaning on a Spade (L'homme Appuye sur sa Beche)
JEAN-FRANCOIS MILLET
French, (1814-1875)
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.
SOLD

Woman Carding Wool (La Cardeuse)
JEAN-FRANCOIS MILLET
French, (1814-1875)
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

Musical Monster
JOHN HAMILTON MORTIMER
British, (1740-1779)
Etching, 1778, Edition unknown. 9 3/8 x 6 3/4 in. Signed in the plate. A fine impression printed prior to the edition by T. Palser in 1816. Very good condition other than a small waterstain in the lower left margin corner, well away from the image. Full margins with a deckle all around. Without watermark.
$750

Making the Engine
CHRISTOPHER R.W. NEVINSON
British, (1889-1946))
Lithograph, 1917, Black 16, edition 200 signed and 100 unsigned impressions. 16 7/8 x 11 7/8 in. Signed, dated and numbered in pencil. This is a fine impression with full margins. The condition is also fine. This powerful image was part of a series of six prints called Britain's Efforts and Ideals: Making Aircraft. This was first exhibited at the Fine Art Society, London and received a very positive response. This series was Nevinson's first commission upon being appointed an official war artist in 1917.
SOLD

North Sea Fishermen
BJO NORDFELDT
American, (1878-1955)
Woodcut printed in colors, 1906, Donovan 11, edition unknown. 9 x15 in. Signed, dated and numbered "52" in ink in the upper left corner of the image. This is a fine impression on Japanese paper of this large, dynamic print. The condition is fine with the typical small margins on all sides. Like virtually all of Nordfelfdt's prints, color variations exist and this one is especially good looking. The influence of Japanese prints is here clearly evident. The catalogue states this is the Swedish coast off Kulaberg.
SOLD

Reclining Female Nude (Liegender Weiblicher Akt)
EMIL ORLIK
Czech, (1870-1932)
Drypoint, 1911, Galerie Glockner 176, edition 100 printed in 1921. 6 1/2 x 14 3/4 in. Signed and dated in pencil (1911). This is a fine impression on cream wove paper. The margins are probably full and the condition is quite good apart from minor handling creases showing mostly in the bottom margin. Orlik was a versatile printmaker and this classic study demonstrates his skills as a draftsman par excellence.
$1,300