A Seat in the Park thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, room 514a , Case 19, Shelf DR24

A Seat in the Park

Printing Block
1869 (published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

A busy park scene. On a bench sit a soldier, a woman, man with a cane, a mother next to her son who is leaning on the bench. The last two are musicians with a violin and tambourine respectively. In front of the bench is a girl with a toddler in a pram. The toddler is playing with a balloon? on a string. Other people are entering the park or walking behind. A gate (doorway), fence, lamp-posts are visible in the background, along with some trees, of which only the trunks are visible and a building, barely visible.

The block has been rubbed with chalk to make the image more visible for cutting. It is made of 12 blocks bolted together, the bolts visible on the back.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleA Seat in the Park (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Woodengraving
Brief description
Woodengraved printing block. Designed by George John Pinwell, wood-engraved by Joseph Swain. A Seat in the Park, illustration from Once a Week, 26 June 1869.
Physical description
A busy park scene. On a bench sit a soldier, a woman, man with a cane, a mother next to her son who is leaning on the bench. The last two are musicians with a violin and tambourine respectively. In front of the bench is a girl with a toddler in a pram. The toddler is playing with a balloon? on a string. Other people are entering the park or walking behind. A gate (doorway), fence, lamp-posts are visible in the background, along with some trees, of which only the trunks are visible and a building, barely visible.

The block has been rubbed with chalk to make the image more visible for cutting. It is made of 12 blocks bolted together, the bolts visible on the back.
Dimensions
  • Height: 23.8cm
  • Width: 31.2cm
  • Depth: 2.4cm
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
  • Swain Sc (Lower left (reversed))
  • Swains Whitefriars (Hand-written on back)
  • 1634 (Hand-written twice on back)
  • from JOSEPH SWAIN & SON / 157 Temple Chambers, Temple Avenue, / LONDON, E.C. / DRAUGHTSMEN & ENGRAVERS ON WOOD, PROCESS ENGRAVERS, / ELECTO-TYPERS, &c, &c, &c. (Printed on label stuck to back)
  • "A Seat in St James' Park" / drawn on wood by G J Pinwell / engraved by Joseph Swain (Hand-written in ink on label stuck to back.)
Gallery label
To cater for an increasing demand for wood engraved illustrations, large workshops emerged, run by entrepreneurial wood engravers. Artists produced designs that were drawn, traced or photographically transferred onto blocks. These were cut by wood engravers, demonstrating immense skill in reproducing linear and tonal effects. [Group label](August 2019)
Object history
Bought from John Swain & Son
Subjects depicted
Associated object
E.281A-1906 (Impression)
Bibliographic reference
Once a Week, 26 June 1869.
Collection
Accession number
E.281-1906

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
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