Krimmel, John Lewis "Departure for a Boarding School"

John Lewis Krimmel. "Departure for a Boarding School." From The Analectic Magazine.

1820. 4 1/2 x 6 5/8. Stipple and engraving by Goodman & Piggot. Very good condition. Ref: Naeve, 100.

In 1812, Philadelphia bookseller and publisher Moses Thomas purchased a monthly magazine entitled Select Reviews, engaged Washington Irving as editor, and renamed the publication The Analectic Magazine. Illustration "was one of the magazine's chief distinctions. Not only were there the usual engravings on copper, but some of the earliest magazine experiments in lithography and wood engraving appeared here. The plates were chiefly portraits, though some other subjects were used." (Mott, A History of American Magazines) This is a particularly wonderful image from the magazine, drawn by Philadelphia genre painter John Lewis Krimmel. Krimmel captured better than anyone the life of the common American citizen in the first few decades of the nineteenth century. His charming scenes are filled with wonderful detail of the dress, objects and environment of everyday life. Like other Krimmel pictures a variety of things are happening among the figures. The grandmother looks up from her Bible as the school mistress is taking away the young lady student who will be missed by her young gentleman lover and the family dog. The father displays the money which allows this event to happen, and the coachman stands at the door wanting to hurry along. The girl's mother doffs her husband's hat showing that she knows manners even if her rough but wealthy husband does not.