Menzies’ vignette views of Edinburgh and its vicinity. Beautifully engraved on steel, and printed on burnished enamel cards.
Book Description
No. I in the 4-part series entitled Souvenir of the North. Rare, 13 finely executed steel line engravings printed on separate coated cards (140 x 90 mm) preserved in a decorative paper-wrapped packet. Printed on one-side coated paper. This paper called enamel paper, burnished paper or gloss paper is coated with a mixture of materials providing a smooth, enamel-like surface for writing and printing, the coatings are often burnished or calendared to produce a glossy finish.
Hand-coating and hand-brushing only started to be replaced by automated production of coating paper as of 1852. (Dianne van der Reyden)
Dealer Notes
With a few exceptions, the views are engraved by John Gellatly (1802-1859), Scottish draughtsman, engraver and lithographer. Dean Bridge and Trinity Chapel are drawn and engraved by J. Stephenson. Burn’s monument is by Robert S. Tait (1816?-1897), portrait painter and portrait photographer, active 1845-1875. Scott’s Monument “to be erected” [1840-1844] by George Meikle Kemp (1795-1844), self-taught Scottish architect designed and built the monument.
G.M. Kemp, poorly educated son of a shepherd showing talents in woodworking as a child, was apprenticed to a joiner and millwright. He was able to memorise exact details of buildings and measure precise distances by eye, Kemp is considered to have been high on the autism spectrum. (Morven Leese)
G.M. Kemp, poorly educated son of a shepherd showing talents in woodworking as a child, was apprenticed to a joiner and millwright. He was able to memorise exact details of buildings and measure precise distances by eye, Kemp is considered to have been high on the autism spectrum. (Morven Leese)
Author
John Gellatly et al
Date
n.d. [c. 1855?]
Binding
Original gold and colour illustrated lithographed paper wrapper
Publisher
Edinburgh: John Menzies
Illustrator
John Gellatly; J. Stephenson; Robert S. Tait; G. M. Kemp
Condition
The cards in excellent condition save very slight chipping of coating to upper margin of 3 cards. Wrapper split in half and somewhat chipped, light spot on mildly dust soiled back cover. Pencil-marked “112” on front wrapper and on verso of the cards.
Pages
13 steel line engravings
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