Landseer, Thomas (1795 London 1880). Tax Cart. Drawn by a blood-thirsty mastiff with the axle smoking. The driver a monkey dressed as human. Etching. (1827/28.) Inscribed: Tho Landseer, otherwise as below. 16 x 20.1 cm.

Rümann, Das Illustrierte Buch des 19. Jahrhunderts, Leipsic 1930, pp. 99 ff.; Nagler 1; Thieme-Becker XXII, 305. – On especially wide-margined buff paper. – Almost only in the right white outer margin quite weak foxing. – With distich from Thomas Moore’s (1779-1852, “Ireland’s National Bard”) Tom Crib’s Memorial to Congress published 1819 under the pseudonym By one of the Fancy:

(“The legally trained mind now and then impairing Moore’s lyric poetry celebrates its biggest triumphs in satiric, frequently political poems referring to current events” aimed especially at the Tories “with the caustic wit peculiar to him” [Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4^th ed., XI, 1889, p. 787]. His Tom Crib’s … within the Moore volume V of the series British Satire 1785-1840 at Pickering & Chatta, London 2003.)

Fine  impression  on  large  paper  from  the  famous  set  of  the  “Monkeyana” , one of the only few early and thus typical works by Landseer of after 180 years

“ That Thomas Landseer can be judged

only  by  such  illustrations

a little book with woodcuts proves which show next to nothing of his intellect ” .

Worked since 1827 the 25 etchings incl. title were published in numbers and with classical sub-texts at Moon, Boys & Graves in London till 1828 (The English Catalogue of Books: January to December) in three editions: standard edition in quarto, edition on larger paper in large quarto, edition with proofs in large quarto, too. Besides copies on mounted China.

Otherwise qualified by Rümann i. a.:

“ Much  more  important  was  Edwin’s  brother  Thomas  Landseer …

… in the 20s he distinguished himself by a series of 25 plates that were published 1828 under the title of ‘Monkeyana’ (ills. 57).

Technically  his  etchings  are  masterly ,

no less admirable the intellectual grasp of the theme. With much humor and sharp observation he transfers the plain life of his time to the monkey’s life. His sarcasm is biting, almost vicious. ”

And Stechow sovereignly sums up :

“ Monkeys  always  fascinated  artists ”

(Pieter Bruegel, Cologne 1977, page 76).

“ The monkey as the animal most similar to man plays an important rôle in art history since antiquity.

As  figura  diaboli ,

as  symbol  of  sin  and  the  fall  of  man ,

as  fool , as  figure  of  vanity

he appears in most varied context … (A)lso the usual religious reference in the interpretation of the monkey as

man  mixed  up  in  his  passion  for  profane  things … ”

(Hella Robels, Frans Snyders, Munich 1989, page 43).

Later Thomas Landseer rather devoted himself largely to the reproduction of the animal depictions by his brother Sir Edwin.
Offer no. 14,970 / EUR  630. / export price EUR  599. (c. US$ 775.) + shipping

“ The method you describe sounds excellent. Please proceed … ”

(Mr. J. R. C., September 16, 2003)