Prints and Principles

Most of the recent posts give details about individual prints and earlier posts discuss some of the subtle principles guiding artists in making images meaningful and memorable. For prints that are unsold, click "Items still available for sale" below. All other prints are no longer available. My contact email is oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com and my Instagram username is @printsandprinciples. I have created a separate blog to show my own work: https://printsandprinciplesjamesbrown.blogspot.com

Sunday, 9 November 2025

Isidore Laurent Deroy, “Récolte du Café” (Coffee Harvest), 1835, after Johann Moritz Rugendas

Isidore Laurent Deroy (aka Deroi; Laurent Deroy) (1797–1886)
“Récolte du Café” (Coffee Harvest), 1835, after a drawing by Johann Moritz Rugendas (1802–1858). Printed by Godefroy Engelmann I (1788–1839) and published by Engelmann, Graf, Coindet & Co in Paris as plate 8 to Johann Moritz Rugendas’ “Voyage Pittoresque dans le Brésil” (Picturesque Voyage in Brazil), part of the fourth issue (division), “Sitten und Gebräuche Neger” (Customs and Tradition of the Negroes).

This scene, rooted in Rugendas’ sketches from his nearly three-year journey across Brazil—culminating in the publication of the four-section/division, “Voyage Pittoresque dans le Brésil”, between 1826 and 1835—captures a vivid Romantic European perspective on life in nineteenth-century Latin America. Beyond its beauty, this lithograph subtly advocates against slavery. Through its visual and contextual narratives, it challenges the dehumanisation inherent in the institution, inviting reflection on themes of freedom, dignity, and social justice.

An online view of the publication and the context of this illustration can be found on Archive.org: https://archive.org/details/gri_33125012637993/page/n397/mode/2up.

Lithograph on wove paper with small margins around the image borderline and writing edge.

Size: (sheet) 28.8 x 33.9 cm; (image borderline) 24.6 x 31 cm.

Lettered in plate above the image borderline: (left) “4^e. Div.”; (right) “Pl. 8.”

Lettered in plate below the image borderline: (left) “Dess: d'ap: nat: par Rugendas.”; (centre) “Lith: de Engelmann, rue du faub: ^g Montmartre N^o. 6 a Paris./ RÉCOLTE DU CAFÉ.”; (right) Deroi del:”.

Teuscher 1106 (Andrea Teuscher 1998, “Die Künstler familie Rugendas 1666–1858: Werkverzeichnis zur Druckgraphik”, Augsburg, Wißner, p. 278, cat. no. 1106).

Condition: a strong and well-printed impression with small margins. There are pin holes and small closed tears in the upper margins, otherwise the sheet is in a good condition with no significant stains.

Price & Shipping: AU$374 (approx. US$1244.24/ €211.22/ £185.72), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in purchasing this historically significant lithograph depicting a rare view of nineteenth-century life on a coffee plantation at harvest time in the Tijuca Forest outside Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I will gladly send you a PayPal invoice for a secure and convenient transaction.