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The Bellman

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

Etching of a night scene showing a bellringer walking 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.

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 print by Samuel Palmer, England, 1879, printed 1926(?).
Physical description
Etching of a night scene showing a bellringer walking 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.
Dimensions
  • Plate impression height: 19.5cm
  • Plate impression width: 25.1cm
Taken from the dimensions given in the Victoria and Albert Museum Catalogue of the Prints, Drawings, Paintings & Photographs Collections and converted from inches to centimetres.
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'F.S. - M. H. - F. L. C.' (Signed in pencil.)
  • There is a small etched triangle in the lower margin on the left, to identify the final printing.
Credit line
Presented by A. H. Palmer, Esq.
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.

Final state. This is one of 75 impressions, on specially chosen old paper, printed under the supervision of Sir Frank Short, R.A., P.R.E., R.I., Martin Hardie, R.I., R.E., and F. L. Griggs, A.R.A., R.E., before the cancelling of the plate. A small etched triangle has been added in the lower margin on the left, to identify the final printing. Plate destroyed.
Production
Attribution note: Final State
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. London, Pub. under the authority of the Board of Education, 1926 no. 216
  • 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.1464-1926

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O761813/the-bellman-etching-palmer-samuel/
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