STEEL ENGRAVING “HOME AGAIN” from the painting by Ernest Waterlow, engraved by Charles Cousen, published in 1886.  The engraving is in very good condition.  The engraving measures 5 ¾” x 10 3/8” and is matted to 12” x 16” for easy framing.

Ernest A. Waterlow tried his reputation as a painter of landscapes by slow degrees, but always held ground once taken, and each year seemed to show a better command of his material.  “Home Again” is a companion-piece to “Outward Bound,” which was painted a few years earlier.  The travelers are making good time in the four-horse coach along the banks of a peaceful stream, and their approach is watched alike with interest by girl, boy, dog, and startled sheep.  “Mr. Waterlow,” says one of his critics, “has not allowed the hury and bustle of the coach to interfere too much with the general sentiment of country quiet.  The coming event is only beginning to cast its shadow before.  Apathy has been braced into expectation, but that is all; the pebble has been cast into the pond, but its ripples have not yet reached the shore.  The attention of the boy and girl is arrested, and their motion also.  The turnpike road with its milestone, the by-path that leads off into the wood, the placid river with its flat meadow-land beyond, the smoke that marks the neighboring hamlet, with softly swelling outline of the hills on the horizon, and the windless evening sky, are all suggestive of the rest which awaits the returning traveler.”  Perhaps it is he who stands on top of the coach and is waving his handkerchief to the young woman in the foreground with a nosegay in her hand.  This is a pleasing picture of domestic life and sentiment.  It was exhibited at the Royal Academy, London, in 1884.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE

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.