STEEL ENGRAVING – “L’ALLEGRO” from the original painting by William Edward Frost, engraved by T. Garner, published in 1878.  This engraving, with rounded corners at the top, is in very good condition.  The engraving measures 10” x 7 ¼”, and is matted to 11” x 14” for easy framing.

      Milton’s poem is naturally suggested, both by the title and the nature of this picture.  It cannot truly be said to illustrate the poem itself, but it presents a pictorial emblem of the spirit with which the poem is animated.  The invocation to the graces - Euphrosyne, Algaia and Thalia - is the passage to which the composition closely refers; -

                        “But come, thou goddess, fair and free,

                        In heaven yclep’d Euphrosyne,

                        And by men, heart-easing Mirth.

                        Whom lovely Venus at a birth,

                        With two sister Graces more,

                        To ivy-crowned Bacchus bore.

    The substantial females of the artist imperfectly suggested the pensive joyousness of the poet, or the delicate conceptions of his fancy, and notwithstanding their beauty, they suffer somewhat by the comparison.  The picture is a reproduction of one of the groups in a larger composition by Mr. Frost, entitled “Euphrosyne,” painted in 1848 for a private collector.  The large painting was admired by Queen Victoria, who Commissioned the artist to reproduce the group in question.  It was first, in the British Royal Collection at Osborne, Isle of Wight.

     William Edward Frost was born near London in 1810, and it was by the advice of Mr. Etty that he first began a systematic application to art.  After some years of moderate success as a portrait painter, his aspirations led him to seek higher honors, and in 1839 he successfully won the gold medal of the British Royal Academy.  From this time his success was rapid, almost all his pictures being embodiments of allegorical subjects, or the fanciful creations of the poets and novelists.  Mr. Frost was elected a member of the British Royal Academy in 1870.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE

Antique prints, etchings, engravings, and lithographs are printing processes, which use steel, copper, stone or wood blocks or plates to produce a picture on paper.

Most antique prints and engravings, which are seen on the internet today, are bookplates.  Because they are pages from a book, there are multiple copies in existence.  This does not, however, mean that they are "reproductions" that have been printed recently.  Because they were, at some point, part of books, some have been preserved in excellent condition, while others show signs of age, as yellow spots or darkness on the edge of the page from being handled.

Engravings, and lithographs are high quality pieces of art, as it took a highly trained artist many hours of work to produce one.  Although there may be multiple copies still in existence, the date of the item should be stated, thus giving the buyer an idea of its age.

SHIPPING AND HANDLING - FIRST CLASS  $4.50