Ex libris of Laurence Hutton

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One of several bookplates used by Laurence Hutton (1843–1904) was drawn by his friend and colleague at Charles Scribners’s Sons, Edwin Howland Blashfield (1848-1936). The plate shows Hutton’s library with the theatrical mask of tragedy and a statue of William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863), who Hutton met as a young boy. The graphic arts collection is fortunate to hold the original drawing for this ex libris.

Together, Blashfield and his wife, Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield (ca.1859-1918), wrote and illustrated a number of magazine articles for Scribners, as well as six monographs. A copy of their Italian Cities (1902), was inscribed to Hutton as follows: “To the dear Huttons, with Xmas greetings from their friends, Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Edwin Howland Blashfield.” [Rare Books: Laurence Hutton Collection (HTN) N6911 .B6]

Edwin Howland Blashfield (1848-1936), Laurence Hutton bookplate, ca. 1900. Pen and ink drawing. Graphic Arts Collection GA 2006.02562
thackeray-figurineHutton’s figure of Thackeray, once on his bookshelf, is held in Princeton’s collection as well.

The European Race

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London engraver Charles Mosley published four satirical prints, 1737 to 1740, on the ‘European race’ between nations. The Graphic Arts Collection is fortunate to have acquired two of the rare set in honor of it former curator, Dale Roylance.

euo raceCharles Mosley (ca.1720-ca.1756), The European Race Heat IId Anno Dom. MDCCXXXVIII, November 26, 1738. Graphic Arts Collection. Purchased in honor of Dale Roylance with the support of the Friends of the Princeton University Library.

mosley european6Sir Robert Walpole (1676–1745) figures in each scene, as he struggles to prevent war, against the wishes of the King and the House of Commons. In 1739 Walpole gave in and sent British forces into what became known as the War of Jenkins’ Ear.

Many animals and riders are competing, including the Turkish elephant, the Dutch boar, the French Fox, the Austrian eagle, and the Russian bear, among others. The skies are full of iconography, with a partial eclipse in 1738 along with cobwebs forming around the doves. By 1740, the devil has given up flying a kite and holds a small banner reading “un autre conven pour l’angleterre” [another convention for England].

euro raceCharles Mosley (ca.1720-ca.1756), European Race for a Distance Anno dom. MDCCXXXX, Inscrib’d to the Political Club, by their humb. servt. An Englishman, February 26, 1740. Engraving. Graphic Arts Collection. Purchased in honor of Dale Roylance with the support of the Friend of the Princeton University Library.

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The Graphic Arts Collection also holds a pirated edition of Mosley’s 1738 engraving, laterally reversed, revealing that an unidentified artist copied Mosley’s positive image onto a copper plate, resulting in a flipped copy.

As I was saying…

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William Heath (1794/95-1840), March of Intellect No. 2, 1829. Etching with hand coloring. Graphic Arts Collection. Purchased in honor of Dale Roylance with the generous support of the Friends of the Princeton University Library

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William Heath created three large, multifaceted satires of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (SDUK). The first and third can be found in most collections of British caricature, including ours, but the second is very rare. Thanks to the Friends of the Princeton University Library, the Graphic Arts Collection has now acquired this plate in honor of Dale Roylance.

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The complexity of the scene reflects the cacophony of inventions and intellectual pursuits raging at that time. Heath begins the group in January 1828, following an accident in the Thames Tunnel, and each feature tunnels to locations around the world. Although they are all varied, the first features accidents due to reading and study; the second focuses on inventions and patents; and the third includes fantastical travel machines.

 

A five-story structure stands at the center of our new print, with ten windows labeled ‘Acme of Human Invention. Grand Servant Superseding Apparatus for Doing Every Kind of Household Work &c, &c, &c.’ Inside each window are different steam-powered machines with elaborate systems of ropes and pulleys for rocking the baby or ironing the clothes or turning the cooking spit. A ‘superseding stair tunnel’ runs up the center.march of intellect 2

An exploding volcano shoots travelers from Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean and multiple flying machines fill the sky while at the bottom right, a chef cooks on ‘Patent Fire: Fresh imported from the interior of Mount Etna.’

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