Lot 118D email save

WEST, Benjamin. William Penn's Treaty with the In

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London: John Boydell, 12 June 1775. Engraving (470 x 600 mm). Framed. Provenance: Martin P. Snyder. scratch proof with the lettering below the title before completion. Benjamin West's famous painting depicting Penn's treaty with the Indians was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1771 and thereafter hung in the Penn home at Stoke Park. At the time of this engraving the painting was part of the estate left by Thomas Penn. One of the most popular fanciful images in Philadelphia history, West has been praised for his accurate Indian clothing, drawn from his own collection, but the late 18th century costumes of the Quakers and the high buildings in the background are not accurate for the 1681 event. "The engraving is one of the best known prints of a Philadelphia scene. Issued with the Penn coat of arms and a typical florid dedication, it is in the reverse aspect of the painting. A drawing for use in the transfer to copper was made by John Hall and is now at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. A number of trial proofs before letters also exist, some in the same institution ... The prints were sold by John Boydell, said to have been the first truly prosperous English print publisher and later Lord Mayor of London" (Snyder). Snyder, COI 238 (this copy illustrated as Fig. 168).

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