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Christmas

Etching
1850 (etched), ca.1926 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Palmer, Samuel (etcher)
Place of origin
Great Britain (etched)

'Christmas'. A small farmstead with a thatched roof, in the foreground a figure pens up a small herd of sheep and a child plays with a dog. Another child stands in the open doorway of the building, behind them can be seen a figure setting the table for a meal.

Object details

Categories
Prints
Printmaking Techniques
Object type
Etching
Titles
  • Christmas (assigned by artist)
  • Folding the Last Sheep (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Etching
Paper
Printing Ink
Etching (Printing Process)
Brief description
'Christmas' (also known as 'Folding the Last Sheep'). Etching print showing a figure penning up a small herd of sheep by a farmstead. Etched by Samuel Palmer, Great Britain, 1850. Impression from cancelled plate, ca.1926.
Physical description
'Christmas'. A small farmstead with a thatched roof, in the foreground a figure pens up a small herd of sheep and a child plays with a dog. Another child stands in the open doorway of the building, behind them can be seen a figure setting the table for a meal.
Dimensions
  • Plate impression height: 12.4cm
  • Plate impression width: 10.2cm
Copy number
Impression from cancelled plate
Credit line
Given by A. H. Palmer
Object history
The first published edition was issued in 'Samuel Palmer, A Memoir' by A.H. Palmer in 1882, in which the plate carried the engraved title 'Christmas' and the words 'from Bampfylde’s Sonnet'.

The plate was cancelled in 1926.
Production
See the plate that this impression was taken from, E.1459-1926.

Attribution note: Impression from cancelled plate
Subjects depicted
Eating
Agriculture
Sheep
Shepherd
Children
Trees
House
Farm
Christmas
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. pp.75-76.
  • 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.
  • 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.1460-1926

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O761817/christmas-etching-palmer-samuel/
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