Taylor, Frederick "Frederick Taylor’s Portfolio. 1844"

Frederick Taylor.  Frederick Taylor’s Portfolio. 1844. 

London: T. McLean, 1844.  Printed by C. Hullmandel.  Folio.  Title page illustrated plus 2ll. and 11 full page illustrations.  Some foxing, but not enough to detract from the lovely renderings.  Original covers with new spine. 

The dedication leaf is to Queen Victoria, and the advertisement explains that this portfolio represents an early use of Mr. Senefelder’s invention by Mr. Hullmandel to reproduce fine arts prints in a lovely manner.  Frederick Taylor (1802-1889) studied art at the Royal Academy as well as in France and Italy.  His professional work through the Royal Society of Painters was done in oils and watercolors.  This portfolio shows his interest in using new mediums in art as explained by the advertisement at the beginning of this work.  Bryan’s dictionary of Painters and Engravers calls him a “rapid and brilliant worker” who later executed many etchings, thus being a major contributor to the etching revival well into the second half of the nineteenth century.  These twelve lithographs illustrate his penchant for landscapes inhabited by figures and animals, a subject dear to the British public.