STEEL ENGRAVING – “DE FOE IN THE PILLORY” from the original painting by Eyre Crowe, engraved by J. C. Armytage, published in 1878.  This engraving is in very good condition.  The engraving measures 7 5/8” x 9 ¾”, and is matted to 11” x 14” for easy framing.

    Among the vicissitudes of authors, standing in the pillory, at least, is no longer to be feared, however many stings and arrows of other kinds may be reserved by fortune for their torment.  In the days, however when the author of “Robinson Crusoe” began to make himself famous as a writer of political pamphlets, the bold scribe who dares to say disagreeable things about the dominant party, risked not only his liberty and fortune, but the possible loss of his ears, which were not unfrequently nailed to the pillory in which their luckless owner was exposed to the rough greetings of the mob.  In 1702 De Foe published a pamphlet entitled “The Shortest Way with the Dissenters,” in which with amusing irony he gravely recommended hanging the minister of that sect and banishing their adherents.  The spirit of the pamphlet seems to have been misunderstood, as De Foe was condemned to fine, imprisonment and the pillory.  A paragraph in the London Gazette, of July 31, 1703, says - “Daniel Foe, alias De Foe, this day stood in the pillory at Temple Bar, in pursuance of his sentence, given against him at last Session at the Old Bailey, for writing and publishing a seditious libel entitled ‘The Shortest Way with the Dissenters.”  De Foe, however, managed to escape some of the worst indignities of his punishment, as his friends surrounded the pillory, and prevented the mob from pelting him with the unsavory missiles with which it was customary to assail victims.  It is also said that the pillory itself was adorned with garlands for the occasion.  Nearly sixteen years after this event, De Foe published “Robinson Crusoe,” which, next to the bible, is probably the most extensively real book ever written by an English author.

       Mr. Crowe’s picture gives an excellent idea of the London of the period, - both of the dress of the people and of the style of houses which then lined one of its famous highways.  The Quaint old-fashioned buildings have disappeared, some of them in the 1850’s, and Temple Bar, now in the last stages of shaky old age, was removed in the late 1800’s.  Eyre Crowe was a favorite pupil of Paul Delaroche, the French painter, and is said to have been one of the few men who were fortunate enough to enjoy the friendship of W. M. Thackeray.  “De Foe in the Pillory” was exhibited at the British Royal Academy in 1862, when it attracted much attention.

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 Mail $4.50