Request to view

This object can be requested via email from the Prints & Drawings Study Room

Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Christmas

Etching
1850 (etched), 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 in 1850, printed 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
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'F.S. -M.H. -F.L.G.' (Signed in pencil)
  • 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
Final state. One of 75 impressions, on specially chosen old paper, printed under the supervision of Sir Frank Short, Martin Hardie, and F. L. Griggs 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.

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'.
Production
See the plate that this impression was taken from, E.1459-1926.
Subjects depicted
Agriculture
Eating
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. London, Pub. under the authority of the Board of Education, 1926 no.175
  • 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.
  • 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.1458-1926

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O761819/christmas-etching-palmer-samuel/
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest