This item is a steel engraving from the painting by George Boughton called “HESTER PRYNNE AND PEARL.”  It was engraved by William Marshall and published in 1877.  The engraving is in very good condition.  The engraving measures 6” x 9 ¼”, and is matted to 11” x 14” for easy framing.

       The subject of Mr. Boughton’s picture of ‘Hester Prynne and Pearl,’ representing them on their way to Governor Bellingham’s, which was originally in the collection of R. M. Olyphant, of New York, is drawn from Hawthorne’s well-known story of “The Scarlet Letter,” and as a composition it shows taste, thought, and study.  The unfortunate heroine Hester is represented passing along the village-street accompanied by her child and shunned by the people. The old woman at the cottage-gate hobbles into the dooryard pushing her maiden daughter before her, as if fearful of contamination from contact with the gentle-faced Hester; the carpenter stops his work as his eyes follow her retreating form; and even the little children pause in their play to look at the outcast.  Little Pearl, the child who clings to Hester’s arm, looks around appealingly as if wondering why they are being shunned by the villagers. There is an expression of dramatic power in this picture, which has been rarely equaled in Art during the late 1870’s. The interest is concentrated in the unfortunate Hester and her child, and all the other figures are subordinate to this group. She bears the sign of her sin upon her breast, but the face is not brazen, nor scowling, notwithstanding the cruel glances which greet her presence and embitter her life. She is quiet and resigned in her humiliation and bears her cross with patience. The picture was painted, we believe, shortly after Mr. Boughton went to live in London, and in the graceful figure of Hester, and in the sense of motion in her stately walk, we see the same ideal which he has so often introduced in his later pictures; but it is no less interesting from his repetition, as it is always inflamed by some new and loveable motive. The sentiment of Boughton’s canvases is always elevated, and there is a pathos about them, as illustrated in this story of ‘Hester Prynne,’ as well as a quaintness, which appeals at once to the heart.  Mr. Boughton went to Europe in 1858, and, after studying in Paris under the influence of Edouard Frere for a time, settled permanently in London in 1861.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE

Antique prints, 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.