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Cottagers, with Fireside

Etcher Henri Merke Swiss
After Thomas Rowlandson British
Publisher Rudolph Ackermann, London British
1799
Not on view
In the 18th and 19th centuries, magic lanterns entertained viewers by projecting images onto a wall or screen (these box-like devices used a mirror to intensify light and direct it through a tranparent image and lens). The London publisher Rudolph Ackermann produced specially treated prints for use in magic lanterns and this example represents the first stage of such an image. Etched lines, based on a drawing by Rowlandson, have established the design. Next tone would have be added to the printing plate and the resulting images hand-colored and oiled. A finished colored example is in the British Museum.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Cottagers, with Fireside
  • Etcher: Henri Merke (Swiss, Niederweningen, canton Zürich ca. 1760–after 1820)
  • Artist: After Thomas Rowlandson (British, London 1757–1827 London)
  • Publisher: Rudolph Ackermann, London (British, active 1794–1832)
  • Date: 1799
  • Medium: Etching; proof before aquatint or mezzotint
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 11 3/8 × 8 9/16 in. (28.9 × 21.7 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
  • Object Number: 59.533.1811
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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