The Philadelphia Print Shop, Ltd.

Prints by Joseph Pennell

Joseph Pennell (1860-1926) was an etcher, lithographer, illustrator and author. He is one of the best known and respected of American artists from the etching revival period. Born in Philadelphia, Pennell trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and at the Pennsylvania School of Industrial Art, and later he taught at the National Academy and the Art Students League in New York City. From 1883, Pennell spent most of his time in Europe, until 1917 when he moved back permanently to the United States. Over his distinguished and prolific career, he won many medals and awards in the United States and in Europe, and is considered one of the great etching innovators of the time. Amongst his other achievements, Pennell illustrated and authored many books, contributed to leading magazines and was one of the founders of the Philadelphia Society of Etchers.

Pennell's major influence was James McNeill Whistler, whose biography he co-authored with his wife, and much of his style and etching technique reflects Whistler's. His prints had many themes, including monuments, cities, factories and for one documentary series, the Panama Canal. Pennell printed many of his own lithographs and etchings, and he continuously experimented with techniques and materials. His work is desirable for his technique, artistic style and the varied subject matter that he so imaginatively portrayed.

NOTE: Numbers preceded by "W" refer to the Wuerth Catalogue Raisonné reference books, which contain plates of all of Pennell's etchings and lithographs. All prints are signed in pencil and are in very good condition, unless noted.

Etchings:

W9. "The Fox Chase Inn." 1880. 4 3/8 x 7 1/4. $125
W272. "West Door, St. Pauls." 1903. 11 x 8 1/2. Ed:50. W272. $850
W277. "The Thames at Richmond." 1903. 11 1/8 x 8 5/8. Ed: ca. 50. W277. $500
W288. "Great Cranes, South Kensington." 1903. 8 5/8 x 10 3/4. Ed: 50. W288. Repaired tear in image and margins top and sides trimmed to plate mark. $275
W297. [Appendix] "F. E. Stoneham, Bookseller." [London] 1905. 5 x 12. $350
W322. "Bridge of Alcantara, Toledo." [Spain] 1904. 10 x 7 7/8. Unsigned. $325
W327. "Union Square and Bank of Metropolis." [New York] 1904. On fine tissue. 11 3/4 x 8 3/8. Signed in pencil. Ed: 75. W327. $600
W392. "The Barber Shop." [Former site of a palace of Henry VIII] 1905. 11 x 8 5/8. Ed: 25. W392. $400
W431. "Kings College, Embankment Gate." [London] 1906. 9 7/8 x 7 7/8. $350
W443. "Lambeth Palace from Westminster." 1907. Ed: 75. W443. Narrow top margin. $400
W448. "St. Bartholomew's Gate." [London] 1907. 9 1/2 x 8 3/4. $275
W470. "The West Front, Rouen Cathedral." 1907. 10 7/8 x 8 1/2. Ed: 90. W470. $450
W517. "Edgar Thomason Bessemer." [Pittsburgh]. 1909. 11 x 18. W517. Ed: ca. 90. [posthumous printing]. $400
W537. "Coal Wharves Staten Island No. 1." 1909. 5 1/2 x 12. Ed: 60. W537. $1200
W539. "Mond Gas, Dudleyport." 1909. 7 x 11. Ed: 50. W539. $350
W547. "Kirkstall Abbey - Old and New, Leeds." 1909. Ed: 40. W547. Printer's wrinkle in margin below plate mark. $400
W560. "The Great Main, Near Sheffield." 1909. 9 3/8 x 12 3/8. $400
W574. "The Spire, St. Peters, Philadelphia." 1920. 9 3/4 x 8. W754. Ed: ca. 50. $300
W597. "The Meuse Mill." [Germany] 1910. 9 1/2 x 12 1/2. $300
W607. "The Colliery Ruhort Near Oberhausen." 1910. 9 3/8 x 12 1/2. $350
W669. "New York, From Hamilton Ferry." 1915. 8 1/2 x 11. $750
W695. "The Clock. Grand Central, New York." 1919. 12 x 10. $600
W710. "The Train Shed, Philadelphia." 12 x 9 3/4 (platemarks). 1919. Signed in pencil. Ed. 50. Title from W: 710. $750
W714. "From the Capitol to the Station, Washington." 1919. 12 x 10. Ed: ca. 50. W714. $1400
W724. "Bridge Land Chicago." 1919. 10 x 11 3/4. $375
W742. "The Hospital, Pine Street." 1920. 8 x 9 3/4 (platemarks). Ed: 50. Titled and signed in pencil. $700
W746. "Fourth Street Meeting House." [Philadelphia]. 1920. 8 x 9 7/8. Ed: 50. W746. $850
W770. "Warship Coming in." 1921. 9 7/8 x 7. Ed: 50. W770. $1250
W785. "The Woolworth, Through the Arch." [New York] 1921. 9 7/8 x 6 7/8. $800
W805. "General Office Building Brooklyn Edison Co." 1923. 12 x 10. $625
W809. "Lodgings for Gents." [New York] 1923. 11 3/4 x 8 3/4. $800
W813. "Out of my Brooklyn Window." 1923. 9 1/4 x 12 1/4. $1100
W819. "The Nave, Washington Cathedral." 1923. 9 3/4 x 11 7/8. W819. $750
- Another example. Later strike, unsigned. With light mat burn. $375
W824. "Building New York, 7th Ave." 1923. 12 1/8 x 9 1/8. Ed: ca. 40 W824. $900

Unrecorded etchings not found in Wuerth:

"Gateway Canterbury Cathedral." 1884. 10 1/2 x 8 1/4. $275
"The West Tower of St. Pauls." Ca. 1904. 10 7/8 x 8 1/2. $650

Lithographs:

W11. "Apartments of Washington Irving." 1896. 7 1/4 x 5. Ed: 15. Signed proof of 15 before edition of 500 for Washington Irving, The Alhambra, 1896. $500
W40. "The Little Inn Yard." 1896. 5 1/4 x 4. Ed: 500. Not signed. Published in The Alhambra, 1896. $125
W66. "Zaandam No. 1." 1897. 8 x 10 1/2. Signed in image. W66. Early 20th century edition. $325
W164. "St. Paul's from Adelphia, London." 1904. 8 1/2 x 11 1/2. Ed:15. Signed in image. Diagonal line from stone in image upper left quadrant. $350
W176. "Niagara Rainbows." 1910. 17 3/4 x 11. Ed:25. $1250
W188. "Brasserie Au Lion Rouge." 1893. 6 1/4 x 8 1/8. Ed: 40. W188. $750
W214* "Canal and Factory." c.1911. 9 1/2 x 12 1/2. $275
W274. "Union League Between the Skyscrapers." 1927. 22 x 17. $750
W276. "City Hall Square & Wanamaker Building." 1912. 22 x 17. $750
W286. "Table and Chair, Signers' Room, Independence Hall." 1912. 23 x 17. $700
W289. "Girard Trust Company." [now Ritz Carlton Hotel]. 1912. 22 x 16 3/4. $750
W292. "Liberty Bell." 1912. 23 x 17. $700
W618. "Yard of the General Electric Works, Berlin." 1921. Lithograph. 14 3/4 x 21. $450

Unrecorded Lithograph:

[Canal and factory]. No date. 8 1/2 x 11. $275

Posters:

W512 "Ready to Start." 1918. 15 x 20. Signed in image. Mounted on original board as issued. A World War I poster by Pennell after his original print with some minor changes. The war poster was done in reverse with additional work in the sky. Underneath the image is the title "Provide the Sinews of War." This poster is mentioned by Wuerth in his book on the lithographs of Joseph Pennell. $650
"The Court of Honor, South Broad St. Philadelphia…" 1919. 32 x 22 (sheet). Lithograph published by Ketterlinus. War poster designed for the Victory Loan Campaign. Paper slightly rough at margins, with some light staining, not affecting image. Not in Wuerth. $400

Pen and Ink Drawings:

"Toledo, The Moorish Tower of St. Tome." 11 1/8 x 7 5/8 (paper). Ink on paper, mounted to board. Not signed. With Century Company label on verso. $850
"Cromwell's Room, Sydney Sussex College, Cambridge." 5 3/8 x 8 7/8 (paper). Ink on paper. Signed in ink. $950
"Confluence of Seine and Marne, Charenton." Ca. 1905. 5 3/4 x 8 3/4 (paper). Ink on paper. With Century Company label on verso. $300
"Woods - Worcester. The Battlefield with Earthworks." 11 1/4 x 9 (paper). Ink on paper. Signed in ink. With Century Company label on verso. $375
"A Typical Bethnal Green Street." Ca. 1900. 7 1/8 x 10. Ink on paper. Signed in ink. $850

Books for sale about Joseph Pennell:

Louis Wuerth. Catalogue of the Etchings of Joseph Pennell. San Francisco, 1988. Cloth. $95
Louis Wuerth. Catalogue of the Lithographs of Joseph Pennell. San Francisco, 1991. Cloth. $125
Joseph Pennell. Pennell's New York Etchings. 90 Prints by Joseph Pennell. From the Picker Art Gallery, Colgate University. Selection and Text by Edward Bryant, Director. New York: 1980. Paper. $7.95

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