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Description.
This rare and superbly executed 1855 Victorian print, on art paper, by William Simpson (1823-99) depicts a Crimean War scene, with the title "Huts And Warm Clothing For The Army". The print derives from the publication "The Seat of the War in the East". The print was published by the famous gallery (still in being) owned by Paul and Dominic Colnaghi, in Pall Mall, London, in March 1855. It forms part of a series of extraordinarily detailed prints, depicting numerous events of the Crimean War.
Watercolourist and painter William Simpson was born in Glasgow, the son of a marine engineer and mechanic. He trained as a lithographer under David Macfarlane and later Allan and Ferguson, and also studied at the Glasgow School of Design. In 1851 he moved to London to work for the lithographers Day & Son. He was sent to cover the Crimean War in 1854, after which he became known as ‘Crimean Simpson’. In 1866 he became an artist for the ‘Illustrated London News’, travelling in India, Russia and Afghanistan, and covering several major military campaigns of the 19th century. In 1874 he became a member of the Institute of Painters in Watercolour. He was also an amateur archaeologist and a prolific writer. Simpson died in London, aged 75.
The print is an original two-tinted chromolithograph-a pioneering technique at the time.
We are selling 27 other prints from this series, nearly all of which are in excellent condition.
Dimensions.
The print measures 36cm x 51cm and is in a mount of 45.5cm x 53cm.
Condition.
There is no foxing and no meaningful deterioration of the piece. The mount is later than the print and is in generally very good condition, apart from minor fading to the right hand side of the mount. We can arrange for the mount to be replaced, if that is desired. Please ask us for a quote.
We can also arrange for the piece to be framed, as you wish, by the top central London framers Frame, Set and Match Ltd, of Covent Garden and Notting Hill. Again, please ask us for a quote, if of interest. Note that we will receive a substantial discount on the normal framing costs, should you decide to replace either the mount, or to re-frame the piece. It is possible for the piece to be framed with non-reflective glass and with acid-free mounts.
NOTE:
We do not offer combined postage, as the figure we charge reflects the time taken to pack and source packaging material and which is incredibly time-consuming. Ultimately, it is the combined price which reflects the true cost.
See our other items. If you like what you see, we do have other items that are not necessarily listed and which may be of interest.
We use recycled packaging. It helps our environmental footprint, but does not necessarily look very pretty!
If the postage policy specifies that postage is included, we will send by tracked postage, rather than tracked and signed. If you wish for the latter, please let us know. There will be an additional charge which we will notify to you.
When we send by tracked alone the item will be at your risk from the point that we can prove, by means of showing a delivery confirmation, that it was delivered to your premises. Until that point, the item will be at our risk.
We are prepared to deliver all over the world, except (for obvious reasons, given the Russian state's unprovoked acts of aggression in Ukraine) to Russia.
We aim to ensure that our descriptions are absolutely accurate. Nevertheless, antique prints arenever perfect. We use high definition photography with the aim of making the condition of any item extremely clear. Defects which are obvious in the photography are deemed to have been declared, even if we do not specifically refer to them in the description.
