To the Grand Lodges of the United States, This Print Representing the Distinguishing Characteristic of Masonry, Charity Bestowed on Proper Objects, is Respectfully Dedicated

KEARNY, Francis (1785-1837, Engraver), HOW, Joseph (fl.1800-1840, Publisher), BARTOLOZZI, Francesco (1727-1815, Engraver), STOTHARD, Thomas (1755-1834, Painter)

Verlag: Francis Kearny and Joseph How, Philadelphia, 1830

First edition of the Kearny version, with the title text, unlike the second edition of 1839. Stipple and line copperplate engraving with letterpress text on paper. Imprint reads: "Copy-right secured according to Act of Congress Philada. Sep. 1830." Image size: 15 1/16 x 20 3/4 inches. First edition of this "very rare" engraving of George Washington at the center of a Masonic charitable event for orphans. [Carson] "The Kearny picture is not at all known abroad, and but little known in the United States." [Tatsch] George Washington, dressed in Masonic regalia, leads two lines of orphaned girls down an aisle, flanked on either side by distinguished Masons in London's Grand Lodge Hall. This rarely seen engraving is after Bartolozzi's engraving of a painting by Stothard, which showed Chevalier Bartholomew Ruspini (1730-1813) in Washington's place. Stothard's original painting is in the Library of the United Grand Lodge of England. The attendees in it and the present print are identifiable Freemason Britons of the time. (But in the 1839 edition, Kearny relabels them to be specific Americans.) The Stothard-Bartolozzi original was published by William Jeffryes & co. in London on June 1, 1802. Both Stothard and Bartolozzi had been Lodge brothers with Ruspini. However, the present example by Kearny and How places Washington in Ruspini's place and was issued in 1830. Another Kearny version appeared in 1839 with different publishers. The Kearny and How Washington version also replaces one of the girls in the Stothard-Bartolozzi with a boy. E. M. Eriksson and Tatsch believe that the picture was prompted by the anti-Masonic excitement fast reaching its greatest height in 1830. The Kearny picture is strongly pro-Masonic, setting forth as they do one of Freemasonry's greatest attributes. [Charity] Stothard's original conception was most excellently adaptable to the treatment given by Kearny, and the substitution of Washington for Ruspini as the central personage was very natural under the circumstances. It was generally known that Washington had been an active Freemason, and in Philadelphia it was especially known that he had been present at Christ Church on December 28, 1778, when the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania attended church in a body to hear the Rev. William Smith, D. D., preach a sermon for the benefit of the poor. Washington's charitable proclivities in general, and his attachment to the Fraternity in particular, made these two themes ideal for portrayal in a Masonic charities picture. Such a picture at that particular time would naturally have strong commercial values, a fact which Kearny and his associates undoubtedly considered. Kearny was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and apprenticed under the New York engraver Peter Rushton Maverick (1755-1811) for three years. After moving to Philadelphia in 1810, he launched a firm called Tanner, Vallance, Kearny and Company, Banknote Engravers. Kearny was later known for his engraving of The Last Supper after Raphael Morghen's engraving of Leonardo da Vinci's painting. Kearny and How also worked together on portraits of Andrew Jackson and his "consort" (1829). Carson, Collection of Engraved Portraits of Gen. George Washington 661. Edwin Babcock Holden Catalog 1090. Tatsch, "The Masonic Charities Pictures," Iowa Masonic Library Grand Lodge Bulletin, Feb 1926, Volume XXVII, No.2. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 41647

Bibliografische Details

Titel: To the Grand Lodges of the United States, ...
Verlag: Francis Kearny and Joseph How, Philadelphia
Erscheinungsdatum: 1830
Einband: Print
Auflage: 1. Auflage