Navigation 2023

Rare prints and maps...Since 1918! Click here to go to Darvill's home page.

Since Adirondack Retro acquired Darvill's Rare Prints in August of 2022, we have been working tirelessly on our New State-Of-The Art Website. We are excited to announce that it is now up and running and that our massive inventory of Antique Prints and Rare Maps are being transferred over to the new site daily. In addition to the nearly 500,000 prints found on www.DarvillsRarePrints.com, Adirondack Retro offers an eclectic selection of Antique and Vintage Advertisements along with their Limited Edition Giclee Prints. During this transition, customers will still be able to shop and make purchases on www.DarvillsRarePrints.com.

Sign up for our Mailing List and receive our Adirondack Retro Newsletter. When you sign up, we will email you a coupon code for you to get 15% OFF your first order at AdirondackRetro.com.

Thomas Rowlandson

Watercolour painter, illustrator and social carcicaturist.

He was born in London in 1756, the son of a bankrupt merchant and was educated at Dr. Barrow's School and at the RA Schools, which he entered in 1772.

He made visits to Paris in 1774 and 1777 to visit relatives and the rococo delicacy of his pen and wash drawings probably owes something to this French connection.

Rowlandson hereafter made extensive journeys on the Continent to France, Italy, Germany and Holland and in Great Britain, filling notebooks with a mixture of grotesque humanity and sylvan ideal landscapes. He often travelled with other caricaturists, notably, J. Wigstead and J. Nixon. His work is always tinted pen drawings rather than full-scale watercolour, but he changed his humorous style to do drawings after the Old Masters and figures reminiscent of Thomas Gainesborough.

He was one of the major caricaturists to become an extensive book illustrator, particularly in his work for Ackermann from 1798, in The Tours of Dr. Syntax, and The Microcosm of London in 1808.

In later life, Rowlandson's quality of work tailed off, a not surprising feature of someone who was a gambler, dissolute and naturally lazy. The later drawings often show a sloppiness and lack of interest in the subject and as countless versions of one subject exist this is not wholly surprising.

He died in London in 1827.

(from The Dictionary of British Book Illustrators and Caricaturists, 1800-1914 by Simon Houfe)

Rowlandson Portrait

Thomas Rowlandson
(1756-1827)
Pencil sketch by George Henry Harlow, 1814

 

Poetical Sketches of Scarsborough
Illustrated by Twenty-one Engravings of Humourous Subjects, coloured from Original Designs,
Made upon the spot by J. Green, and Etched by Thomas Rowlandson

Printed for R. Ackermann by J. Diggens, Saint Anne's Lane
London, 1813

Original hand-coloured aquatint etchings over 210 years old!

The sheet size is approximately 5.5 x 8.75 inches
Relevant text pages available upon request, with purchase

Widow Ducker & Her Nymphs
Widow Ducker & Her Nymphs

Typical age toning of paper, fox mark upper edge of image

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
A Trip to Scarbro
A Trip to Scarbro

Typical age toning of paper, fox mark upper edge of image, paper loss at top edge

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
$35
The Breakfast
The Breakfast

Typical age toning of paper, fox mark upper edge of image

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
$55
The Spa
The Spa

Typical age toning of paper, foxing/staining in margins mainly

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
$50
Spa Terrace
Spa Terrace

Typical age toning of paper, fox mark upper edge of image, paper loss at bottom edge, tear at top middle

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
$25
Boot & Shoe Shop
Boot & Shoe Shop

Typical age toning of paper, light foxing/staining in margins mainly

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
$65
The Castle
The Castle

Typical age toning of paper, light foxing/staining in margins mainly

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
$65
The Warm Bath
The Warm Bath

Typical age toning of paper, light foxing/staining in margins mainly

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
Cornelian Bay
Cornelian Bay

Typical age toning of paper, light foxing/staining in margins mainly

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
$65
Sea Bathing
Sea Bathing

Typical age toning of paper, light foxing/staining in margins mainly

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
$65
The Sands
The Sands

Typical age toning of paper, light foxing/staining in margins mainly

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
$65
The Church
The Church

Typical age toning of paper, light foxing/staining in margins mainly

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
$65
Shower Bath
Shower Bath

Typical age toning of paper, light foxing/staining in margins mainly

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
The Terrace
The Terrace

Typical age toning of paper, light foxing/staining in margins mainly

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
$65
The Theatre
The Theatre

Typical age toning of paper, light foxing/staining in margins mainly

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
$65
The Ball Room
The Ball Room

Typical age toning of paper, light foxing/staining in margins mainly

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
$65
Terrace Steps
Terrace Steps

Typical age toning of paper, light foxing/staining in margins mainly

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
$50
Wet Quakers
Wet Quakers

Typical age toning of paper, light foxing/staining in margins mainly

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
$65
The Post Office
The Post Office

Typical age toning of paper, light foxing/staining in margins mainly

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
$65
The Departure
The Departure

Typical age toning of paper, light foxing/staining in margins mainly

Please click on above image to see a larger version of the entire plate and to assess condition of the engraving
$50
See Also Rowlandson Dr. Syntax prints
Antique Humor and Satire prints home