Welcome to a Free Art Exhibition of Portrait Miniatures

January 2026 - After a break of several years, new purchases and new research are gradually resulting in some new miniatures being acquired for the collection. It may be a month or two until they are all actually added, and displayed, on this website, but the intended emphasis continues to be quality, mixed with interesting pieces.        

From April 2026, new additions to the Artists and Ancestors collection since January 2026, will gradually be added to this website, under these headings;  

New American Additions in 2026

New British Addition in 2026

New European Additions in 2026 

The process will take some time, and there will very likely be alterations to some of the posts as new information is added.

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N.B. 2 November 2025. I regret that some visitors to this collection may have missed seeing all of the miniatures. This note tries to make the process clearer.

The links on the lower right of this post, to each of the eight galleries, as listed in summary below, opens page one of that gallery displaying those miniatures.  However, it is important to realize that only the first page automatically opens in each gallery. 

Thus, to see earlier pages in each gallery, it is necessary to scroll right to the bottom of each first page. Where, at lower right, there should be a link to "older posts". Clicking that link will then open any previous page, with images of many other miniatures in that particular gallery. 

Some galleries comprise more than two pages, so it may be necessary to again scroll down, and click on "older posts", to open each previous page of miniature portraits in that gallery.  

1- European Miniature Portraits

1- American Miniature Portraits

1 - British Miniature Portraits 

19C & 20C British Miniature Portraits

2 - American Miniature Portraits 

2 - European Miniature Portraits

2. - British Miniature Portraits 

20C - American Miniature Portraits

3 - American Miniature Portraits 

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July 2025. N.B.  This blog was live in 2007-2020, and I regret I had not looked at it recently, due to my major research project on 18C English Literature, at www.tobiassmollett.blogspot.com 

Thus, for visitors interested in a critical and forensic assessment of accepted, academic, "Conventional Wisdom" as is recorded in 18C art, medicine, and literature I do recommend you please read, at least the first 12 pages of a second free ebook (a link to an earlier, but different, ebook is further below) as available at www.researchgate.net  See it at, 

(PDF) Beneath the Varnish: Conventional Wisdom on Trial.

When I recently opened this Artists and Ancestors blog, I was dismayed to see Google had converted a number of posts to Drafts, so they did not appear! I have now re-published those drafts.  Also Google dropped images from some of the blog sections, for an unknown reason?? I do apologize that it would be a major task for me to review and reload all missing images, but my research notes for approximately 1200 miniatures in this Artists and Ancestors Collection remain valid. In addition, Google seemed to omit an index, on the right, of Internet links to several sections displaying miniatures in the collection, with separate addresses, including;

I hope those links will now appear on the right of this July 2025 post. 

[Welcome to new followers who saw this site on Blogs of Note. I hope you find the subject fascinating. I am willing to answer questions about miniatures and I get several questions each week. Click on my profile for the address. Questions are often from people who have portraits of ancestors, or found a miniature in a drawer. In late 2021 I rarely add to this website, but the information remains a helpful resource for collectors.]

Thus read on, in a user friendly format, the website displays a private collection of miniature portraits. A kind visitor has emailed; "It is definitely the best online art website that I have found yet."

But before exploring, please take a few seconds to imagine yourself 200 years ago, with no computers, no television, no films, no photographs, and no color printing in magazines or newspapers. Consider how unique these miniature paintings were, in capturing likenesses we now take for granted, and think how few other delicate objects of that age have lasted so well.

The Exhibition should appeal to art lovers, family historians, and fashion historians who can study hairstyles and clothing, changing over the centuries. Increasingly, the website focuses on known sitters and represents a new view of history, by "stepping through the back of a portrait".

If necessary, please wait a minute or so for the Slideshow Previews to appear (hopefully! - some browsers may have problems) and click to start. They show examples of miniatures on the left by American artists, and on the right by British and European artists. More miniatures are included in the various Gallery Links to the right, reached by clicking on the blue hyperlinks. 


There are over 1200 miniatures in the collection from America, Britain and Europe. All being easy to view and arranged in separate Galleries. In addition, hundreds more fine miniatures in other private collections can be accessed via links on the right. The exhibition format is:

1 Introduction to Miniatures
2 Copy, Fake, and Decorative Miniatures
3 Miniatures and the Photograph
4 Focus of the Collection
5 Additions and Comment since 2009
6 Guest Gallery
7 History of the Collection
8 Highlights
9 American Galleries
10 British Galleries
11 European Galleries
12 Art Collecting Links
13 Bibliography

For more detail click on the blue links above or on the right under Gallery Links. Alternatively, use the Site Search box to search for artists, sitters, or key words. To email me with questions about miniatures, just click on my photo for a link. As a service to collectors, I do not charge for brief inquiries, but am also willing to advise collectors wishing to dispose of collections of miniatures.

The 2008 entries can be seen consecutively in 2008 Additions and Comment or items of interest can be selected below. (Research being like a detective story, the major items really do feel like cases!). Entries can also be seen, starting at 2009 Additions and Comment

The following slide-shows depicts some portraits acquired for the collection.


Some older Posts
December - Auction news - View
November - Nathaniel Rogers at auction - View 
November - Two additions - View 
October - Three additions - View 
September - Two additions - View
August - Rare wax portrait by Ethel Frances Mundy - View 
July - Rare miniature on porcelain and new information - View
July - Expanded research on recent additions - View
June - Items of interest and more on Barratt fakes - View
June - Is the case original? - View
May - Fakes and items of interest - View
April - Recent sales noted - View
March - Horace Walpole on Samuel Cooper - View
March - A new book and some modern fakes - View
March - Current news - View
February - That book again! - View
January - Mainly American miniatures - View

[- Re the Carlisle book!
For more see
The Real Mr Frankenstein

The inspiration for the biography was the purchase of a miniature portrait of Carlisle for this collection, and it is shown here on the cover. The research has been fascinating and incredible, but also sobering, as it including the uncovering of a series of murders of pregnant women by famous men midwives of the 18C. This truly is an example where truth is stranger than fiction.

The book has been published on the Internet, as freely available for private research at:
 The Real Mr Frankenstein

Old Posts
December - Some additions - View
November - A record price and a sad story - View
October - Buyer Beware - how to waste $18,000 - View
October - The Real Mr Frankenstein now published! - View
September - Modern miniatures and research - View
August - Stolen miniatures - View
August - The Real Mr Frankenstein and wearing a miniature - View
August - A new book and a question about condition - View
July - Additions and market comment - View
June - An addition and some queries - View
May - Market snippets and more on fakes - View
April - Magazine articles on American miniatures - View
April - Snippets and painting miniatures - View
March - Snippets and an addition - View
February - The Yves St Laurent sale - View
February - Market place and an addition - View
January - An addition and various comments - View
2008
December - Annual Review for 2008 - View
December - Additions to the collection - View
December - The market- fake and genuine miniatures - View
November - Fake and genuine miniatures in the market place - View
November - Two additions - View
November- "Blog Following" and the market place - View
November - Miniatures of George Washington - fake and genuine. - View
November - Art of Mourning - View
October - The Case of the 4th Earl, the Harem, and the Great Art Fraud - View
October - A Spanish miniature portrait collection - View
October - The Market for Miniatures - View
October - More from the Market - View
September - A likely fake and the real Mr Frankenstein - View
September - The Case of the American Count and the Cookbook - View
September - New exhibition in Germany - View
August - American additions to the collection - View
August - Fakes, condition issues, and the market place - View
August - Preview - Comstock, Conger, Starr, and Stout families - View
August - The impact of the 1807 Embargo Act on miniatures - View
August - The Case of the Cabinet-Maker's Daughter - View
July - Researching sitters and decorative miniatures - View
July - American additions and Mr Darcy - View
July - The Case of Isaac Buckingham and The People vs McCool - View
June - Market place and miscellany - View
June - Additions to the collection and research - View
June - The Case of the Military Matriarch - View
May - Exhibitions, new literature, stolen miniature - View
May - New and recent literature on miniatures - View
May - Twenty years on the trail of William Douglas - View
May - Research and literature - View
May - American additions to the collection - View
May - The Case of the Speed Family and Abraham Lincoln - View
May - New Research and trivia - View
April - New dictionary of French miniature painters - View
April - The American market place - View
April - Une Collection Francaise - View Blog
April - Additions to the collection - View
April - Market place and other things - View
April - Miniature portrait of Benjamin West - View
April - Fakes and decorative miniatures - View
April - The Case of the von Cramon family and the Hitler bomb plot - View
March - Miscellany and more on museums - View
March - Additions to the collection - View
March - Market place - View
March - The exhibition of eBay Boycott Art - View
March - The Case of the British Rodin - View
February - Additions to the collection - View
February - The Case to Open the Museum Doors! - View
February - Stolen miniature portraits - View
February - Harriet Josephine Turner - View
February - Market place - View
January - Blue eyes, record price, - View
January - A forgotten family story - View
January - Additions to the collection - View
January - The Case of Walter Robertson - View

See also the Annual Review for 2007 and some previous cases below from:

An Art Collector's Casebook:

The Case of the Coal Mining Family from Ohio - View
The Case of the Lady Sculptor from Boston - View
The Case of the Mark Twain Portrait - View
The Case of the Link between Pocahontas and George Washington - View
The Case of the Lord Mayor of Melbourne - View
The Case of the Slave Trader's Widow - View
The Case of the Scandalous 19C Divorce - View
The Case of the Painter Princess - View
The Case of the 15 year old Eloping Heiress - View
The Case of the Gift from Napoleon - View
The Case of the Unknown Victoria Cross Winner - View
The Case of the Forgotten Author - View
The Case of the Chemistry Professor and the Spirit Mediums - View
The Case of the Portrait of Aaron Burr - View
The Case of the Governor's Grand March - View

(Please note that Copyright for all portraits and written content on this website and its subsidiary pages remains with the Owner, but images may be copied for private or educational research with an appropriate credit or an Internet link to this website. Clicking on About Me should bring up an email link.)

New American Additions in 2026

 

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American miniatures added to the Artists and Ancestors collection since January 2026 include those below;

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This miniature was offered a a "British miniature", but in being purchased, it was the opinion of this collector it was more likely an American miniature, painted c. 1775-80, which was later rehoused in imported British casework of around 1800. In the Met catalogue, there are similar rehoused examples, including on page 63, one by Nathaniel Hancock.

The miniature here, (ds 1526) is possibly by Hancock, but it also has similarities with miniatures of c.1775-80, painted by Charles Willson Peale. It has stronger colouring than most CWP miniatures, which often have a more blue colouring, due to fading and a fugitive red pigment, but may possibly have been re-touched at the time it was rehoused. Another, less likely artist is John Ramage, as his miniatures are more usually painted with the sitter in a left-facing profile.

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Next is an American miniature, which after arrival, has been attributed to Anson Dickinson (1779-1852), it being in a typical red case of around 1835, ds 1531.

 

 

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This miniature is also believed to be American, probably from the Boston area, judging by the framing. The artist is less certain, but it may be by Daniel Dickinson (1795-1977). ds 1532. 

The reverse has a hard to read note, needing more research, but appearing to read;

"Nicholas Fischer, son of Johann Seigfried. Fischer of Seliganne, Dobre (?) Bova set (?), Nauteo 1719 (?)."

 

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Another American miniature is attributed to Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) ds 1534. The miniature has the typical blue toning of many CWP miniatures, and the reverse has a short, stuck on, note reading; "Capt. Loring RN. Mary Macneal of Ugadale.".

The previous owner, did not know the artist, and had assumed the miniature was a portrait of Admiral Sir John Wentworth Loring, KCB, KCH (13 October 1775 – 29 July 1852) a Royal Navy officer of the early nineteenth century, best known for his service in the Napoleonic Wars as a frigate commander. Born in the Thirteen Colonies at the outbreak of the American War of Independence, Loring's family fled to Britain and he subsequently joined the Royal Navy aged 13. In 1793, aged 17, Loring was badly wounded in combat at the start of the French Revolutionary Wars. He subsequently served throughout the following 23 years of warfare between Britain and France, and eventually became a full admiral. (Wikipedia)

John Wentworth Loring was born in October 1775 at the start of the American War of Independence to Joshua Loring, High Sheriff of Massachusetts. John's grandfather, Joshua Loring, had served in the navy in the Seven Years' War, commanding a squadron on the Great Lakes. The Loring family were Loyalists, and were ultimately forced to flee to Britain. In 1789, 13-year-old John Loring joined the Royal Navy, serving in HMS Salisbury before joining HMS Victory at the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. (Wikipedia)

 

However, this collector doubted the portrait was of that sitter, as it appeared to be painted c.1775-80, when John Wentworth Loring would have been aged only 5. 

Instead, before purchasing for this collectione, the note on the reverse was researched online, leading to this collector's belief the miniature actually depicts Commodore/Captain Joshua Loring (1716-81), the grandfather of John Wentworth Loring. A portrait of Commodore Joshus Loring Sr. wearing a navy uniform, has obvious similarity with the CWP miniature. That portrait of Commodore Joshua Loring, Jamaica Plain by Way of London — is owned by the Jamaica Plain Historical Society. 

 

See; 

Commodore Joshua Loring, Jamaica Plain by Way of London — Jamaica ...

 

There is a long Wikipedia reference to Joshua Loring Sr. which is helpful, but is unfortunately illustrated with a portrait of his son, Joshua Loring Jr. (1744-89), which depicts Joshua Loring Jr. wearing a red British army uniform, as per the description below, 

Joshua Loring - Wikipedia

Whereas Joshua Loring Sr. was in the Royal Navy and so wore a blue uniform. The reference includes;

 Loring's eldest son, Joshua Loring, Jr., served as high-sheriff in Suffolk County, Massachusetts[ and was Commissary General of American prisoners-of-war in New York from 1777 until 1783. Together with William Cunningham, he was held responsible for the deaths from starvation and disease of thousands of Americans held prisoner on ships moored in New York Harbor. "[B]ut it is not easy to ascertain the truth, or to determine his personal responsibility in the treatment of prisoners." He was discharged from his office on the grounds of corruption and departed for England, where he died in 1789. Joshua Loring, Jr's son, John Wentworth Loring, served in the Royal Navy and rose to the rank of admiral." 

The Loring family tree shows the connection, in the note on the reverse, between Joshua Loring Sr. and Mary Macneal of Ugadale. An abbreviation of the descendants in the Joshua Loring family tree at;   

Joshua Loring (1716-1781) - WikiTree

includes; 

John Loring (abt 1759 - 16 Nov 1808) m. Mary McNeal (02 Apr 1761) on 27 Apr 1795.

1. Mary Eliza (Loring) MacNeal (29 May 1802 - 25 Dec 1861) m. George MacNeal (abt 1793 - 23 Feb 1861) on 26 Dec 1821.
1. Hector MacNeal (10 Jul 1822 - 02 Oct 1905) m. Constance Glencairn Campbell (16 Jul 1839 - 02 Jan 1912) on 27 Mar 1862.
1. Mary Henrietta (MacNeal) Greenlees (20 Feb 1871 - 1917) m. Daniel Colville Greenlees (05 Mar 1869 - 11 Mar 1931) on 1896.

Hence the note on reverse of the CWP miniature "Capt. Loring RN. Mary Macneal of Ugadale.".refers to a granddaughter of Joshua Loring Sr.: Mary Eliza (Loring) Macneal, marrying George Macneal on 26 December 1821. The FindaGrave link for George Macneal, Esq. (1793-1861), of Ugadale, confirms Ugadale as his home, and his 1821 marriage to Mary Eliza Loring Macneal (1802-61); 

George MacNeal (1793-1861) - Memorials

 

There are multiple Internet links to the home built by Joshua Loring Sr. These include; 

History - The House

Slavery at the Loring Greenough House

 A partial history reads;

The history of the Loring Greenough House begins in 1760 when Joshua Loring, a commodore in the English Colonial naval forces, constructed the large four-square frame residence in the historic center of Jamaica Plain.  An outstanding example of Georgian Colonial architecture, the House was the hub of a large and actively developed farm that was Loring’s chief interest following his retirement from military service.  His life as a distinguished member of the Colonial gentry came to an abrupt end with the bitter factionalism of the incipient Revolution.  He fled the House in August 1774, for the greater security of Boston. He and his family permanently left Boston for England in 1776.

As there seems no reason to doubt the provenance outlined above, a genuine email attempt was recently made, to acquaint the Loring Greenough House, with this new discovery of a CWP miniature of Joshua Loring Sr. with the offer that they would be welcome to freely add the CWP image of Joshua Loring Sr. to their website if they so wished. 

But, no reply, nor any acknowledgement, was received from the managers of Loring Greenough House.

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 Another American miniature of a young man and recently acquired is dated around 1820-25. The artist is not immediately obvious, but there seem two possibilities; ds 1536.

 - George Loring Brown (1814-89) where the noses, pose, and profile are similar to two miniatures in the Worcester Art Museum catalogue, p.42-43. Presumably, Gorge Loring Brown was related to Joshua Loring in some way?  The G L Brown miniatures seem the closest match, being in an untrained, almost primitive style.

 - Samuel F. B. Morse (1791-1872) where there is a young man in a similar pose on p. 129 of the Met catalogue. 

 

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As a change previous male sitters, another American addition is a well-dressed young lady; ds 1537

 

 Although, unusually, being painted on paper, as most miniatures are on ivory, the miniature is now attributed to William P Sheys (active 1813-23). In size, profile, pose, and detail it is very similar to the William P Sheys portrait of a similar young lady on page 128 of the Met catalogue. The case is a typical, tired, red case of around 1820-40.

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The next American miniature is also of an attractive young lady wearing a black dress, in a battered, but also typical red case; ds 1551. She was likely painted around 1830-35, and there are multiple other examples in this collection of young ladies wearing similar black dresses from c.1830-35; So many that the iconic, "the little black dress", usually attributed to a 20C origin, was perhaps merely copying the"little black dresses" of c. 1830-35. No artist attribution has yet been made, but should be possible with some more research. One possibility is Christopher Martin Greiner.

 

 

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 With a little embarrassment, here are two modern American miniatures, of c.1970-80; ds 1540

 

 

 On of them is noted on the reverse as "a wax miniature by Aileen". They are wax portraits of George and Martha Washington. What is unusual, is that the detailed wax heads and clothes, are embellished or decorated, with the addition of actual fabric and lace trimmings. 

Although they may not properly merit inclusion in a collection of American miniatures, they were acquired as "space fillers" instead of seeking out actual miniatures by Mary Way (1769-1833). Miniatures by her, are very rare, and highly valued, so unlikely for examples to ever be acquired for this collection. The Met catalogue, p.76, describes her work;

She made miniatures in watercolor on paper as well as "dressed" miniatures-collages of cut-paper watercolor profiles with costumes made from cloth, braid, lace, and other trimmings, all mounted on  a fabric background."

 Thus, these wax heads of George and Martha Washington, with lace and other trimmings are "space-fillers", as an approximation of the miniatures by Mary Way.

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 There are several other American miniature, still in transit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New British Additions in 2026

 

 Work in progress.

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This was purchased from America, and originally thought to be a revival miniature of c.1900-20. The vendor description recorded that it was either on hand-painted on paper or a lithograph, and it was offered as unsigned, although dated 1918. ds 1533

 

 Although difficult to see, it appeared to be signed and then dated 1918 at lower left, almost under the frame. It is a little above average size for a miniature, and when it arrived, it was possible to confirm it was painted, and was signed "Annie G Fletcher RMS 1918".

Researching her, established she was a member of the Royal Miniature Society, and Foskett records;

Fletcher, Miss Annie G[ertrude?] (Mrs E.J.Houle (fl.1895-1914) Exhibited at the R.A.1805-1914, from various London addresses. Painted miniatures and portraits in oil. Exhibits included a portrait in oil of the late General Sir Michael Biddulph G.C.B., R.A., Black Rod; Mrs Mullens; and Miss Hilda Marion, and Arnold, children of W. Wolfe Fletcher Esq.

 The 1918 date is thus, slightly later than the biographical dates earlier ascribed to her. 

 

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 An interesting group of British miniatures was acquired as a single lot. ds 1539 a, b, c.

 

 

The portrait of King George V is well painted, as is that of Queen Mary wearing her robes for the 21 June, 1911 coronation of George V.. In 1914, to show support for the troops fighting in Europe, George V was photographed in military uniform and sent, along with a message to the troops.

 The miniature here is very similar, but with one notable difference. In the official portrait he is not wearing a great-coat, whereas he is wearing a greatcoat in the miniature. 

 

 The miniature is unsigned, but of excellent quality, by a good artist, so one wonders why it is different. So far, no other source image, has been noted of George wearing a greatcoat. 

 

The miniature of Queen Mary shows her at the time of receiving her crown, as in an image of the time; 

The miniature of Victoria and Albert is by an amateur hand, but despite that, with quite good detail.  

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 This miniature was purchased from America, and appears to be 1835-40 American in style, and by the metal bezel casework, and is in a typical ebonised rectangular frame.. ds 1535  

The sitter has a kindly facial appearance, and Anson Dickinson seems a possible artist, However, there is an advertisement on the rear from London, which may be later packing. There are also reflections which confuse the detail.

 

 

 

 

New European Additions in 2026

 Work in progress

Some of my www.researchgate.net Essays and Links on 18C Art History

September 2025 - For those visitors to this website who are interested to learn more about Art History, a while ago I loaded some PDF essays on the subject into my research account at www.researchgate.net 

N.B. To access these papers, just Right Click on each PDF link: to reveal the relevant Google link next to it; then Left Click on that Google link, to be able to scroll down the newly opened page.

1. Collecting and Researching Miniature Portraits, see this link;

(PDF) Collecting and Researching Miniature Portraits

2 Miniature Portraits of the 19th Century - What did it cost to paint them?

(PDF) Miniature Portraits of the 19th Century - Paint

3. My account at www.researchgate.net also includes four of my essays analysing well-known prints by the famous 18C artist William Hogarth; 

These essays demonstrate that previous researchers, universally and completely, misunderstood the Hogarth prints. Earlier researchers assume each Hogarth print has only a single, simple, message! - as pictorial sermons, for instruction of the London uneducated and illiterate 18C masses! However, Hogarth was a brilliant, but previously unacknowledged, satiric artist. 

N.B., all previous Hogarth research literature claims the dog in The First Stage of Cruelty was a male dog. But the paper linked below, reveals Hogarth depicted a female dog; to draw attention to many cruel and fatal Caesarean experiments, murderously conducted by 18C men-midwives.

The four essays show in illustrated detail, that Hogarth's true intent with his prints, was to convey subtle and important messages on contemporary events, via Satire, for the amusement and edification of his intelligent and educated 18C viewers; while being done in parallel with a simple Sermon, for the uneducated and illiterate masses.

A Satire not a Sermon, The Enraged Musician and the Cibbers ...   The Enraged Musician is NOT about the conductor in the window and street noise. Instead, Hogarth is at lower right; as a knife-grinder, sharpening his satire. His focus is Colley Cibber at front beating a drum. Cibber is enraged as his own plays, are overwhelmed by a wave of Shakespeare comedies, set to the music of Thomas Arne.

(PDF) A Satire, not a Sermon: Marriage A-la-Mode and ... Marriage A-la-Mode is NOT about a generic marriage. Instead, it is a parody of Fielding's Shamela: ostensibly itself a parody of Richardson's Pamela, but combined with satiric mockery, targeting Tobias Smollett as Mr Booby. 

A Satire, not a Sermon: Four Stages of Cruelty and Murder Four Stages of Cruelty is NOT about cruelty to animals. Instead, a dark satire on pregnant women cruelly murdered by 18C man-midwives, as subjects, during multiple experimental Caesarean operations.

(PDF) A Satire, not a Sermon: The Gate of Calais and the Young Pretender

The Gate of Calais is NOT about British food being better than French food. Instead Hogarth uses ironic satire to mock the Stuart Young Pretender, Scot, Bonnie Prince Charlie, and his 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, when, in December 1745, the successful Scots army occupied Derby, but then decided to retreat, to ultimate defeat in battle at Culloden: instead of marching on London, and seeking to seize the Crown. Hogarth also ridicules another Scot, Tobias Smollett, as failed "young pretender" to the vacant "literary throne", resulting from the recent death of literary giant, Alexander Pope.

 

4. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and her real Inspiration.

The Frankenstein novel is claimed by many as inspired by a dream in 1816, but methodical analysis now shows the dream was a myth, unrecorded by Mary until nearly 20 years later. New research reveals Mary invented the dream myth, as a mask for her fear; a need to divert attention from her real inspiration, the London anatomist Sir Anthony Carlisle, surgeon to the Prince Regent. By 1830 Carlisle was Professor of Anatomy at the Royal Academy, and his popular lectures included a fresh human head. Mary feared rumours comparing Frankenstein with Carlisle's anatomy experiments, might incite riots to threaten the Monarchy: by paralleling the French July 1830 Revolution, which overthrew King Charles X. Thus Mary back-dated the 1816 dream myth, to divert attention from the 1830s, and instead imply 1816.

(PDF) Anthony Carlisle and Mary Shelley - Finding Form in a ...

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Please feel free to share these essays with anyone interested in Art History. 

5. An interesting field to research, was the impact of the USA 1807 Embargo Act on the making and use of portrait miniature cases in America from 1805. See this post; 

https://new-additions.blogspot.com/2008/08/august-embargo-act-of-1807-and-19c.html

 

6. A 18C London print-maker who competed in 1738-45 with William Hogarth was George Bickham. A partial collection of George Bickham prints is accumulated at   www.tobiassmollett.blogspot.co.nz - as a post titled;  

Smollett and Prints by George Bickham - 1738-45 © 

Those prints include a section on the rebus print example below which, to date, I have tried, but have been unable to fully interpret.

[The third version reverts to Mr Geo Bickham as the engraver and is reportedly imprinted at the bottom, "Sold at [the] Blackmoors Head, Strand, Sept. 30 1744,". It seems George Bickham decided to keep the Political Creed but to "reclaim" the print by re-engraving his name at the top right and adding a new date of 1744 at the bottom right when he did so.

In trying to understand the three versions, the most likely scenario is that the September, 1740 version was the original. Then, someone decided to add the Political Creed of Capt. Hercules Vinegar and alter the name of the engraver to a fictitious name, i.e. Geo Wickham. This second "fake" version was then dated July, 1740, that is previous to the date of the original, to match the letter at the top left and give the print an extra air of authenticity. A 1740 issue date makes most sense, with the Political Creed originally written before 1742, as Sir Robert Walpole left office on 6 February 1742, then becoming the Earl of Orford. In addition, by September 1744, Fielding had sold his interest and was four years removed from The Champion.

The consideration is then, who issued the first version, and who would have altered the original to include the Political Creed and date it July, 1740. While there is no definite proof, in mid 1740, Smollett was the only satirist involved in a major war with Fielding. He had possibly also arranged the first version, but he does seem the most likely perpetrator for the fake Geo Wickham version, as that is the sort of publishing  tactic he used, and the July 1740 date matches the publication date of The Tryal of Colley Cibber. In addition, the erasure of the names of the jousters, allows them to represent Smollett and Fielding jousting, as a private joke to Fielding. If that interpretation is correct, such a diversion by Smollett into satirical cartoons, considered by Hogarth as his own territory, then helps explain why Hogarth retaliated by mocking Smollett in The Enraged Musician and Marriage A-la-Mode.  

Parts of The Creed requires more analysis to be fully deciphered, but it is as seen in this close-up: 

"I believe in King [George] ye 2nd, ye [grate]est [cap]tain & ye [Yl?]est Mon[ark] [bee]tween [Mountains] & [Sea], and in Sir Robt'[wall][pole] his only [Lord?] our [?], who was [be]gotten by [?] ye At[?]ney, born of Mrs [Wall] [pole] of Hough[ton], [axe]cused of corrupt[eye]on ex[pound]ed & im[prison]'d he went down into Nor[folk?] ye [3] [yearss], he came up again, he [de(ar)]sended into ye As[min]tra[eye]on & [sit]eth at ye [side] of ye Treas[yew]ry, from thence he shall pay [?] those who Vote [?] they are [?]-manded. [eye] [bee][leaf] in [?]'s [tree]aties ye Sanc-eye]ty of ye [bishop]'s, ye Inde[pen]-dancy of ye [army?], ye Integr[eye]ty of ye [comb]mons, a Res[eye]tu-[eye?]on from the [?] & a [?] of ye Pub[leek] Debts. A-[men]. 

7. Another print-maker of the mid 18C competed with Hogarth, under the name Samuel Lyne, in 1741-56. A collection of many of his prints has been accumulated and is discussed at www.tobiassmollett.blogspot.co.nz see the post there titled; 

 Smollett and Prints by Samuel Lyne - 1741-56 © 

Samuel Lyne

When this branch commenced the line of research was based on a hunch Tobias Smollett had designed and published satiric prints over the name of S Lyne. What was unclear is whether Samuel Lyne was a person, or what we would now call a brand? Was Lyne a satirical clue to "lying" about his identity? That has become apparent as a valid view, with distinct and valuable shapes emerging. [I would much welcome contact from anybody who has researched Samuel Lyne and is able to prove, or disprove, whether he actually existed in 1741.

In the period c.1741-3 there were published a number of prints inscribed as sold by Samuel Lyne at the Globe. The British Museum records 8 prints by Samuel Lyne from 1690-1747: 1690, 1713, 1733, 1741 (2), 1742, 1743, 1747, and one undated, which is a suspiciously long time span. The British Museum dates two versions of The High German Doctor as sold by Lyne, one dated 1690 and one 1743. And Yale dates The Quack-Doctor Outwitted by Lyne as c.1710. As the research below has progressed, the opinion forming is that there may have been an error in dating the Lyne prints as 1690 and 1710; that is, if they were dated by the clothing and the large wig. The Lyne versions may be later reissues as, from the discussion below about The Quack Doctor it is seen the Lyne The Quack-Doctor Outwitted is believed to be a commentary on Henry Fielding's The Mock Doctor, The Mock Doctor first performed in 1732, but based upon  Molière's Le Médecin malgré lui, of 1666, which explains the seventeenth century clothing and wig. There are references to a book, A New Booke of Merry Riddles. London, 1665 by Alexander Nicol, and apparently sold by S Lyne. It is unsighted, but is probably a c.1740 reprint, perhaps with a Lyne imprint, rather than an indication that Lyne was a seller of books in 1665.

This began to sound like a case of "where there is smoke there is fire". The suspicion was that, as one of his satirical publishing ruses, Smollett set up or was involved with, a print shop in 1741 over the name Samuel Lyne with, or without, an employee named Samuel Lyne.  

 6. Another group of prints, this time by by Samuel Boyce, is discussed at,www.tobiassmollett.blogspot.co.nz see;

Smollett and Samuel Boyce - The Lost Works of Tobias ...

8. A collection of satiric prints associated with Alexander Pope is also displayed and discussed at www.tobiassmollett.blogspot.co.nz under a post titled; 

Smollett & Pope - III - Anti-Pope prints and Tom-Tit - 1734-45 ©

Introduction

As demonstrated below there were various anti-Alexander Pope prints initiated by Tobias Smollett. One earlier print composed by William Hogarth, illustrates the use of a pictorial image as a pun. The print was published c.1736, is titled The Distrest Poet, and usually regarded as depicting Alexander Pope, but more important is the title. During the 18C the loss of one's wig was regarded in common usage as a sign of the loss of one's reason, or of one's wits, i.e. also the loss of a poet's wit. In The Distrest Poet the poet's wig is loose and vulnerable to risk of displacement as he scratches his head. The point of this is a pun on distressing, i.e. "distressing" as a worry about a loss of poetic inspiration, and "dis-tressing", as the removal of one's wig, i.e. losing one's hair tresses. This simile, that the loss of one's wig implies the loss of one's reason or wit[s], is represented in several of the prints composed by Smollett as part of his attacks on Alexander Pope.     

The Distrest Poet, as a pun on a Distressed Poet; punning Pope losing his wig, and losing his wit.

 

 

9. Although not strictly art history, any visitors with an interest in "literary archaeology", and seeking to make their own new 18C literary research discoveries, are welcome to draw on the research in this detailed PDF essay which discusses the content of Grubstreet Journal of 1730, in order  to determine the identity of the previously unidentified and anonymous contributor who wrote much of the Grubstreet Journal. The essay is freely available at www.researchgate.net.  

(PDF) A Black Hole in 18C Literary History