John Laporte’s soft-ground etching, “Wooded Country Scene with a Horse-Drawn Cart”, 1802, after Gainsborough

John Laporte (1761–1839)

“Wooded Country Scene with a Horse-Drawn Cart” (descriptive title only), 1802, soft-ground etching (possibly plate 30) reproducing a chalk(?) drawing by Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788) in the collection of John Laporte (as inscribed on plate), published on 1^st May 1802 in London in the very rare and relatively small edition by John Laporte and William Frederick Wells (1764–1836) from the series of seventy-two plates, “A Collection of Prints, Illustrative of English Scenery, from the Drawings and Sketches of Thos. Gainsborough, R. A.”. Sixty of the plates from the first edition were later republished in the larger 1819 edition by H R Young (fl.1819) with the original publication details of the first edition erased.

Soft-ground etching printed on wove (Whatman) paper with full margins as published in the first edition.

Size: (sheet) 32.5 x 39.4 cm; (plate) 24.5 x 31.2 cm; (image borderline) 19 x 26.2 cm.

Lettered on plate below the image borderline: (left) “T. Gainsborough R.A. del.”; (centre) “From the Original in the Collection of J. Laporte./ Published by J. Laporte & W. F. Wells. May 1.1802.”; (right) “J. Laporte sculp.”

Condition: a strong and well-printed (near faultless) impression with generously wide margins. Beyond a small tear in the lower margin, the sheet is in near pristine condition for its age with no holes, folds, abrasions, losses, stains or foxing.

I am selling this marvellous early impression from the exceptionally rare first edition of 1802 (as inscribed on plate) for AU$218 (currently US$160.05/EUR134.50/GBP120.19 at the time of this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this fine example of soft-ground etching with its imitation of the grainy lines of Gainsborough’s chalk drawing, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold