George Brookshaw

Brookshaw Botanical, Grapes, large folio, Natural Hisotry, Fruit Specimen

1804

George Brrokshaw (1751-1823) Plate LVII, Black Frontiniac Aquatint printed in color on heavy laid paper watermarked J. Whatman 1809 Signed in the plate lower center margin (see photo...

Plate XXXVIII Claremont, Homerton's white, Ford's black and the Genoa nectarines. Aquatint, engraving with some stipple, printed in colors with hand finishing 1804-1812 Engraved signature on the bottom left (see photo) From: Pomona Britannica or A Collection of the Most Esteemed Fruits (90 Plates) Published: White, Cochrane & Co., E. Lloyd and W. Lindsell, London: [1804-] 1812 Format: Folio size, 1st edition Printer: Thomas Bensley (active c. 1760-1935) Considered to be a msaterpice of natural history illustration Condition: Excellent Image/Plate size: 18 3/4 x 15 7/8 inches Sheet size: 21 1/4 x 17 inches Refereence: Dunthorne 050 Publication legend lower center: “Painted & Published as the Act Directs by the Author G. Brookshaw” followed by date, varying from 1804 to 1812. Title page credits: “Printed for the author by T. Bensley, Bolt Court, Fleet Street. Published by White, Cochrane and Co. Fleet Street; E. Lloyd, Harley Street; and W. Linsell, Corner of Wigmore Street.” George Brookshaw (1751-1823) (after) from Pomona Britannica; Or, a collection of the most esteemed fruits at present cultivated in this country… selected principally from the Royal Gardens at Hampton Court T. Bensley, London (printer) White, Cochrane & Co., E. Lloyd and W. Lindsell, London: [1804-] 1812 Folio edition Stipple engravings, printed in color, finished by hand 17.5 x 14 inches, plate mark, average approximate 22 x 17 inches, overall, average approximate Pomona Britannica, or a Collection of the Most Esteemed Fruits at present cultivated in the country…selected principally from the royal gardens at Hampton Court…accurately drawn and coloured from nature, with full descriptions was published in London from 1804—1812. Comprising 90 aquatint engravings, including 256 depictions of British fruit, after paintings by George Brookshaw. Published in London and engraved by R. Brookshaw and H. Merke. George Brookshaw (1751—1823) was born in Birmingham, England where he was apprenticed to Samuel Troughton (d. 1783), a Birmingham painter and japanner. According to a recent blog post related to St. Philips Cathedral, Birmingham, England, entitled In Search of Sobieski Brookshaw, by Gill Partridge, he may have received some art training from his father, also named George Brookshaw, who is listed as an engraver in a document dated 1751. George Brookshaw’s brother, Richard Brookshaw (1736—c.1804) was a portrait painter and engraver well versed in mezzotint and copperplate engraving techniques, and may have instructed his brother. In 1777, Brookshaw moved from Birmingham to London and began a celebrated career building fine cabinets detailed with hand-painted botanical and pomological motifs. Shortly afterward, in 1778, he married Sobieski Grice (1749—1811), daughter of William Grice, a prosperous gunsmith.The Prince of Wales was the most distinguished of Brookshaw’s well-heeled patrons, and today examples of Brookshaw’s cabinetry may be seen at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. According to church records noted in Gill Partridge’s post, both George Brookshaw and Sobieski Grice were baptized at the Birmingham Cathedral. In his cabinet-making shop, Brookshaw also offered lessons in flower painting to ‘Ladies of Taste and Fashion’. During the mid 1790s, it appears his furniture-making business went bankrupt, and he led his life under an assumed name, G. Brown. In 1991, Lucy Wood wrote two articles in which she drew the connection between G. Brown and George Brookshaw. During his years of anonymity, Brookshaw worked as an illustrator of botanical books and gave flower-painting lessons, which may have been his primary source of income. Apparently, the marriage dowry he enjoyed while married to Sobieski Grice was lost after their marriage dissolved. Brookshaw returned to public view as the earliest parts of Pomona Britannica were issued. In Flower and Print Books of the 18th and Early 19th Centuries, Gordon Dunthorne extolls the virtues of George Brookshaw’s large folio edition. “One of the eminent English artists of the early nineteenth century is George Brookshaw, who issued in 1812, Pomona Britannica. Ninety aquatint plates, printed in colour and on a scale comparable to Thornton’s Temple of Flora...

Plate LXXVIII Pears (Valley, Petit Russelet, Doyenne, or Saint Michael, and the Russselet de Rheims, or Gross Russelet varities). Aquatint, engraving with some st...

Cluster of Grapes in Folded Napkin Etching, 2006 Signed and numbered by the artist (see photo) Edition: 25 (8/25), see photo Printed on Hahnemuhle pa...

This hand-colored lithograph showcases a cluster of Stockwood Golden Hambro grapes, a variety known for its plump, golden fruit. The print is part of Louis van Houtte’s *Flore des Se...

Antique Grape Botanical Chromolithographs, Wine & Table Grapes, Set of Six, 1854 This impressive set of six original mid-19th century botanical chromolithographs was published in St...

Print Sz: 11 1/2"H x 9 1/2"W Frame Sz: 19 1/4"H x 16 3/4"W Publisher: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown Plate XXXVIII George Brookshaw, also known as G. Brown, was a notable Eng...

Six hand-coloured plates of Grapes, printed in colour and finished by hand. Framed and glazed, overall size: 42.5 by 57.5cm. Pomona Italiana Ossia Trattato Degli Alberi Fruttiferi...