The Ass
Print
ca. 1807-1830 (made)
ca. 1807-1830 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
School sheets like this were produced for school children to demonstrate their best handwriting for presentation to their parents, particularly at Christmas, and were popular throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The wood engravings on this school sheet reflect the influence of Thomas Bewick: the ass in particular recalls Bewick's 'Quadrupeds', a work whose animals were frequently copied in this period. It seems that the publishers Arliss and Huntsman produced a series of school sheets with different wood engravings in the borders. These wood engravings would probably have been commissioned originally for their children's books and thereby become part of their stock block collection.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Ass (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Wood engravings with decorative borders and letterpress on paper |
| Brief description | Anonymous broadsheet, 'The Ass', wood engraved school notesheet with decorative border, published in London by Arliss and Huntsman, British, ca. 1807-1830 |
| Physical description | Wood engraved school notesheet with decorative border. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Printed and published by Arliss and Huntsman, 87, Bartholomew Close, West Smithfield. (Letterpress) |
| Gallery label |
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| Object history | Acquired in connection with the display A Fine Line - Commercial Wood Engraving in Britain, V&A, 10 October 1994 - 26 March 1995. |
| Production | paper watermarked 1807 |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | School sheets like this were produced for school children to demonstrate their best handwriting for presentation to their parents, particularly at Christmas, and were popular throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The wood engravings on this school sheet reflect the influence of Thomas Bewick: the ass in particular recalls Bewick's 'Quadrupeds', a work whose animals were frequently copied in this period. It seems that the publishers Arliss and Huntsman produced a series of school sheets with different wood engravings in the borders. These wood engravings would probably have been commissioned originally for their children's books and thereby become part of their stock block collection. |
| Bibliographic reference | Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints, Drawings and Paintings Accession Register for 1994 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.716-1994 |
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| Record created | November 25, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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