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19th Century English Tinsel Print Portrait of Actor Retailed Saxon and Clemens

19th Century English Tinsel Print Portrait of Actor Retailed Saxon and Clemens

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19th Century English Tinsel Print Portrait of Actor Retailed Saxon and Clemens

About the Item

A mid 19th century English full length portrait tinsel print hand colored and hand embellished, framed and retailed by Saxon and Clemens of New York City circa mid 20th century. This print depicts, "Mr. Freer as Alonzo the Patriot". This is one of three tinsel prints that I have available on my HKFA storefront here on 1stdibs. From the Robertson Davies Collection website, I would like to share with you this fascinating history of tinsel prints, "As the popularity of these prints became wide spread, bags of prepared tinsel decorations were sold along with the prints making them customizable by the purchaser. Thus after the tinseling process, no two prints would be identical. Tinsel prints emerged from the tradition of toy theatres. Once an appropriate model theatre was purchased, the public could buy prints depicting actors, actresses and scenery from plays that were being performed at the time and recreate those plays in their home. As the "juvenile drama" became popular, play books were published along side prints so the words of the plays could be recreated as well. While the genre flourished the desire to purchase a larger print of a specific actor or actress remained. Thus two types of theatrical prints became to be printed: those for juvenile dramas that were small and excluded specific actors names, and actors portraits that were larger and more individualized. In the larger theatrical portraits, characters were "always displayed full length" and "striking [a] habitual and dramatic pose". The 1830's marked the emergence of tinseling prints as a past time. Before this time, if an individual wished to embellish a portrait, individual sheets of metal foil would have to be purchased, measured and cut to fit an individual print. Once tinseling became common, different packages of precut tinsel (specific to the print)would be sold with each print as aforementioned. The term tinsel specifically refers to the metal sheets used to represent armor and weapons, but more broadly includes pieces of satin, silk, velvet, leather, and feathers among other embellishments. Although tinsel prints are now viewed as works of art, in the nineteenth century they were no more than a child's pastime. Most sources cite tinseling, as well as toy theatre, as being most popular among boys from the working class. Their popularity among boys could explain why male portraits were produced more frequently than female, however, it is more likely that male costumes, with their multiple pieces of armor and arms, offered more opportunities to use tinsel in comparison to the largely fabric costumes of women. Juvenile Dramas and accompanying prints as a whole experienced their heyday from the 1810's-1850's." And to further elucidate the tinsel print history, I offer this fascinating description from the Folger Shakespeare Library, "Tinsel prints are a unique English art form from the early and mid-19th century. They are typically composed of metal foils, fabric scraps, leather, feathers, and any other suitable material glued onto printed portraits of actors and actresses. Theatrical tinsel portraits have their roots in “patch portraits,” which were introduced to England by French prisoners of war in the late 18th century. This technique was embraced in England as a perfect home craft. Initially only the prints were acquired from the print dealer shop, and the metal sheets were cut out by the amateur tinseller to embellish his character. From the 1830s on this divertissement caught on so that you could acquire your embellishments in shops selling portraits and plays. The various metal tinsel shapes were produced by a gunsmith with an array of steel punches or dies that he would use for stamping out the different shapes and sizes, such as swords, helmets, spurs, or even minute dots to embellish the sword. These embellishments were varnished or glazed in a variety of colors, often red or green. Today this form of art has become quite rare, the remains in some forgotten attic." Overall height of the frame (not including the hanging hardware, is 10.75").

Dimensions:
Height: 12.75 in (32.39 cm)Width: 9.25 in (23.5 cm)Depth: 1.5 in (3.81 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Brass,Foil,Glass,Paper,Wood
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
Mid-19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1840's
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. In good antique / vintage condition with age appropriate wear. Some oxidation to the brass hanging hardware. Print has not been examined out of the frame.
Seller Location:
Atlanta, GA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU7240235755242

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