| Title: |
A Christmas Carol (The Illustrated London News & The Leighton Brothers) |
| Artist: |
Browne, Hablot Knight "Phiz" (Kennington, 1815 - Brighton, 1882) |
| Publisher: |
The Illustrated London News |
| Printer: |
George C. Leighton, 198 Strand of the (Leighton Brothers, London) |
| Date: |
1855 |
| Medium: |
Original Wood Engraving Printed in Colour |
| Note: |
Halbot Knight Browne (Phiz): One of the premier illustrative
artists of the nineteenth century, Halbot Knight Browne was apprenticed
to the engraver, Finden, after finishing his education in Suffolk. While
working for Finden he also opened up his own art studio and attended further
classes at the St. Martin's Lane School. Success came quickly to 'Phiz'
when, in 1836, Charles Dickens commissioned him to illustrate his Pickwick
Papers. His humorous and often satirical style of art made him the preferred
illustrator of such great authors as Charles Lever, W. H. Ainsworth and
Albert Smith, but Phiz will always be remembered first for his long association
with Dickens. After Pickwick Papers, he worked on such classic novels
as, Nicholas Nickleby (1839), Old Curiosity Shop (1840), Dombey and Son (1855 - 1848), David Copperfield (1849 -
1850), Bleak House (1852), Little Dorrit (1855 - 1857) and Tale of Two Cities (1859). |
| |
A Christmas Carol (1855) dates from the greatest
and most productive decade of Phiz's career. It is also an extremely large
Phiz engraving and most probably one of the few original Phiz images that
was printed in colours during his lifetime. His splendid gift for capturing
expression has never been seen to better advantage than in this original
engraving. |
| |
The Illustrated London News: One of the primary originators of pictorial journalism was the British, "Illustrated London News". Established by Herbert Ingram (1811-1860), the "Illustrated London News" published its initial number in 1842 and continued well into the twentieth century. Throughout its life, skilled artists maintained a very high level of craftsmanship in
their illustrative art. Hence, for well over one hundred years, these original engravings have attracted serious collectors who recognize both the historic and artistic value of these images. In fact, one of the first avid collectors of these engravings was Vincent Van Gogh, who, for several years, entertained thoughts of working as an illustrative artist for the publication. |
| |
During the second half of the nineteenth century, periodicals, journals and magazines such as 'Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper', 'Every Saturday', 'The Aldine' and 'Harper's Weekly', in the United States, and 'The Illustrated London News', 'The Illustrated London Almanack', and 'The Graphic', in England, created pictorial journalism on a grand scale. Wood engraving (invented around 1780) at last made it possible for publishers to print images and words on the same page without the extravagant costs of producing etchings or engravings from metal plates. From about 1850 engraving upon wood became the dominant means of distributing information along with pictorial imagery, and continued in this role until around 1900, when the practical application of photography took control. A Christmas Carol is striking early example of the wood engraving printed in colors. |
| |
Leighton Brothers, London: The Leighton Brothers firm was established in 1849 by George Cargill Leighton (1826-1895), his brothers, Steven Leighton (1834-1920) and Charles Blair Leighton (1823-1855). Their firm specialized in early engravings printed in color. Experiments in printing wood engravings in colors began about 1850. The two great innovators in this field were Edmund Evans (The printer behind Kate Greenaway and Walter Crane) and George Leighton, who, after forming Leighton Brothers Company produced some of the largest color engravings of the Victorian era. In 1855, the Leighton Brothers printed the first color engraving to be issued in a Christmas Supplement for the Illustrated London News. During the next thirty years, they continued to print many other works for the I. L. N., the Art Journal, The Illustrated Almanac (another branch of The Illustrated London News) and other British firms. The Leighton Brothers received commissions to print children's books for firms like Warcwich House Toy Books, which included 'Domestic Animals', 'Home' and 'Field Animal's, 'The A B O of Animals and Birds', and Routlege's New Colored Toy Books, 'Cinderella', 'Mother Hubbard and Cock Robin', 'Routledges Colored Scrap-Book' and many others. Around 1858, George C. Leighton became the main printer and publisher for the Illustrated London News and remained in this position until 1883. After the death of Ingram Herbert, owner and founder of that newspaper, George Leighton and Mr. Thomas Parry, continued to to manage the newspaper. Leighton Brothers was sold to the leading british lithographic firm of Vincent Brooks, Day & Son in 1885. "A Christmas Carol" represents a very early example of the color printed wood engraving. The Leighton Brothers contributed at least twelve large color wood engravings for the Illustrated London News. Many of these original wood engravings were printed on thick, fine paper and represent some of the finest color print making of the nineteenth century. |
| Size: |
13 1/2 X 9 (Sizes in inches are approximate,
height preceding width of plate-mark or image.) |
| |
Matted with 100% Archival Materials |
| Condition: |
Printed on mid nineteenth century wove paper and with full
margins as published in 1855. Bearing the publishers title and artist
name along the lower margin. A Christmas Carol is in excellent condition
throughout. This original engraving stands as a prime example of early
Christmas art and colour printing, and, of course, of the famous art of
Phiz |
| Price: |
Sold - The price is no longer available. |
| Important Information: |
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