Hogarth, William (1697 London 1764). Two Anglers by a River. Round about decoration of all kind. Engraving by Thomas Cook (c. 1744 – London 1818), together with his son. Inscribed: Hogarth pinx^t. / T. Cook & Son sc. / Published by Longman, Hurst, Rees, & Orme, Nov^r. 1^st. 1808., otherwise as above. Subject size 16.6 x 14 cm.

The frontispiece to “Dr. Brook Taylor’s Method of Perspective Made Easy” by John Joshua Kirby (Wickham Market 1716 – Kew 1774) showing the result of not observing the rules of perspective. The respective subtext replaced by “Frontispiece to Kerby” though. – Taylor (1685-1731) of Bifrons House, Kent, is regarded as after Newton and Roger Cotes the most important mathematician of England. He lacked, however, the talent to express his demonstrations with the necessary lucidity and completeness so that a good part of their effect was lost. So also his Linear Perspective of already 1715, setting forth the principles of art more originally and generally than ever before, received general acknowledgement only thanks to Kirby’s treatises of 1754 above and “The Perspective of Architecture” – for which Hogarth designed the frontispiece as well – following in 1761.

Cook “made a name for himself as Hogarth engraver, too, whose complete work he has engraved in copy” (Thieme-Becker) and whose original format he maintained contrary to all later Hogarth editions in his first, earlier edition. For some sheets not published by Hogarth himself Cook became their first engraver, just as he also gained approval of a contemporary connoisseur as Maximilian Speck von Sternburg. Here, however, present in Cook’s popular smaller, later version. – Trimmed inside of the wide white platemark.
Offer no. 8,987 / EUR  81. (c. US$ 113.) + shipping

„ Danke für den wunderbaren (Ridinger-)Scan … der meine Argumentation zur Verwechslung in der Staffierung der Porzellane dokumentarisch bestens belegt. Darf ich um Ihre Zustimmung bitten, ihn in meiner Arbeit zeigen zu dürfen? “

(Herr J. R., 7. Juni 2004)