John Laporte’s soft-ground etching, “A View near Uxbridge”, 1801–02, after Gainsborough

John Laporte (1761–1839)

“A View near Uxbridge”, 1801/2, a soft-ground etching after a drawing by Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788), published in London in 1802 by John Peter Thompson (aka Darling & Thompson) (c.1792–1813), possibly from Laporte's series of progressive lessons in landscape, “from nature, in imitation of pencil, from the original drawings” (see the documentation about Laporte’s published prints provided by Ken Spelman’s Books, “The Drawing Project”: https://www.kenspelman.com/ARTBIB/ARTBIB%20L.pdf).

Soft-ground etching on fine wove paper, backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 25.4 x 33.5 cm; (plate) 19.6 x 27 cm; (image borderline) 15.5 x 24.2 cm.

Lettered in plate below the image borderline: (left) “J. Laporte del & Sculp.”; (centre) “A View near Uxbridge./ London Published April 13,1802, by John P. Thompson G^t.Newport Street, and N^o.51, Dean Street, Soho.”

Condition: a strong and well-printed (near faultless) impression with reasonably wide margins (as published?). The sheet is in an excellent condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions or significant stains and is laid onto a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper providing support and large margins.

I am selling this light-filled portrayal of what must have been an open rural area, when this print was made, on the outskirts of London, for AU$196 (currently US$128.78/EUR119.07/GBP101.50 at the time of posting this print) including 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 remarkable pre-Impressionistic portrayal of a spreading tree, purportedly after a drawing by one of the greatest of British Landscape artists, Gainsborough, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

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