Artist: Thomas Bewick (British, 1753–1828), designer and draughtsman on wood.
Title: Travelling Family. Tailpiece to the Fable of ‘The Forester and the Lion’ by Aesop.
Inscriptions: Titled, dated, and signed in plate. Collector’s stamp AU in ink in Gothic script recto.
Dimensions: Sheet: 2 3/8" × 3 1/4".
Edition: The Fables of Aesop, and Others.
Date: 1811–1823.
Materials and Techniques: Wood-engraving on paper, letterpress verso as issued.
Provenance: — Monogram AU stamp in ink in Gothic script verso (not in Lugt).
— The Estate of George “Yorgo” Demetrakopoulos; professor, assistant director of the Medieval Institute, and assistant to the dean at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, from 1965–2000.
Condition: Foxing. A diagonal crease. The backing sheet is torn and would benefit from replacement; the print itself is not affected. The signs of aging are appropriate for the time. A detailed condition report is available on demand.
Catalog Raisonné: Peter Osborne (Fables of Aesop and Gay’s Fables) and David Gardner-Medwin. The First Part of an Inventory of the Vignettes of Thomas Bewick and the Beilby-Bewick Workshop. The Bewick Society. “The man in the vignette seems to exemplify the reference in Bewick’s Application to ‘the partiality of mankind in favour of themselves’.” p. 741.
Part of: The Fables of Æsop, and Others (Newcastle upon Tyne, 1818, p. 84).
Museums, Libraries and Auctions: British Museum 2006,U.1718.
Art Movements, Periods and Schools: British School XVIII C.
Note: The print is affixed to a backing sheet at the four corners.
Acknowledgement: This entry incorporates text from Wikipedia and the catalog entry of a similar item in the British Museum collection.