Landmarks in Print Collecting

A richly illustrated book with highlights from the British Museum's collection of prints and drawings 

The Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum holds one of the world's greatest collections of prints, consisting of more than two million items. This second hand book studies the history of the British Museum's collection of prints and drawings from the founding of the Museum in 1753.

Ten essays describe the principal gifts, bequests and purchases that now form the core of the Museum's holding and nine appendices with unpublished documents taken from the Museum's archives are included.

The survey moves from Sir Hans Sloane, who was less interested in the aesthetic qualities of his prints as works of art than in their subject content (no matter how ephemeral), to the tightly focused collections of later connoisseurs. These included  C. M. Cracherode (d. 1799), with his outstanding Rembrandts and prints of the Italian School and  Felix Slade (d. 1868), who pursued outstanding impressions of 'the best prints by the best engravers'.

The book is illustrated with 100 examples of the finest prints from the collections described in the essays.

Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Date published: 1996
• Language: English
• Condition: Used - very good
• ISBN: 978-0714126098
• Product Dimensions: 27.2 x 21 cm