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The Bellman

Etching
1879 (etched), 1926 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Palmer, Samuel (artist)
Palmer, Samuel (etcher)
Place of origin
England (etched)
England (printed)

Etching of a night scene: a bellringer walks through a quiet village as the moon rises. Moonlight outlines the roofs of the houses and the horns of cattle lying in the lee of the hedge. The impression is from the cancelled plate and is defaced by a vertical line engraved through the centre of the plate.

Object details

Categories
Prints
Printmaking Techniques
Object type
Etching
TitleThe Bellman (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Etching
Paper
Printing Ink
Etching
Brief description
'The Bellman', a night scene showing a bell-ringer walking through a village as the moon rises. Etching by Samuel Palmer, England, 1879. Impression taken from the cancelled plate in 1926.
Physical description
Etching of a night scene: a bellringer walks through a quiet village as the moon rises. Moonlight outlines the roofs of the houses and the horns of cattle lying in the lee of the hedge. The impression is from the cancelled plate and is defaced by a vertical line engraved through the centre of the plate.
Dimensions
  • Plate impression (approx) height: 19cm
  • Plate impression (approx) width: 25cm
Marks and inscriptions
The impression is from the cancelled plate and is defaced by a vertical line engraved through the centre of the plate.
Credit line
Given by A. H. Palmer
Object history
The finished design was reproduced as plate 6 in The Shorter Poems of John Milton with Twelve Illustrations by Samuel Palmer, Painter and Etcher, 1889.

This is an impression from the cancelled plate.
Subjects depicted
Night Scenes
Villages
Bell-Ringers
Moon
Cattle
Hedge
Literary reference'Il Penseroso' by John Milton.
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • Catalogue of an Exhibition of Drawings, Etchings & Woodcuts by Samuel Palmer and other Disciples of William Blake October 20 - December 31, 1926. London : Published under the authority of the Board of Education, 1926. Publication No. 178 E.I.D.
  • Catalogue of an Exhibition of Drawings, Etchings & Woodcuts by Samuel Palmer and other Disciples of William Blake October 20 - December 31, 1926. London : Published under the authority of the Board of Education, 1926. Publication No. 178 E.I.D. pp.82-83.
  • Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1926, London: Board of Education, 1927.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.1465-1926

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O761812/the-bellman-etching-palmer-samuel/
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