Engraving

Title:

A View of the Mansion of the late Lord Timothy Dexter in High Street Newburyport

Object Name:

Engraving

Object ID:

1995.573.11

Creator:

Smith, John Rubens (1775-1849)

Date:

1810

Description:

Aquatint. A View of the Mansion of the late Lord Timothy Dexter in High Street, Newburyport, by John Rubens Smith (1775-1849), 1810. Ink on paper, possibly on paperboard. Adam-style house right of center background; three stories, pedimented doorway, roof balustrade, and cupola. Lawn in middle ground has statues of men, women, and lions, some allegorical, placed on high pedestals or arches. Several figures, on foot or in carriages, stop in foreground and look at statues. In lower margin, key to statues along with inscription and title. Key, top row, from left to right: "Maternal Affection", "Jack Tar", "King George", "General Washington", "I am / the greatest Philosopher / in the Western World / T. Dexter." Second row: "Col Ward", " R King Esqr", "Gen. Butler", "Corn Planter", "William Pitt", "Lord Nelson", "N. Buonaparte", "I am the first / in the East / T. Dexter", "J. Adams", T. Jefferson / President", T. Bradford / Marshall", Genl. Elliot", "Louis XVI", Caleb Strong." Third row: "The Honble [superscript 'ble'] John Langdon / Govenor of New Hampshire", "Travelling Preacher," "Gen Knox", "J. Jay", "J. Hancock", B. Franklin", "Lion", "Lion", "Lion", "Lion", "Centinel". Below: "The names of each Character are Inscribed on the Scotia of the Entabletures of the Column which being too small here to be made legible are placed perpendicular to their respective Statues / A View of the Mansion of the late LORD TIMOTHY DEXTER in High Street Newbury port. 1810 / The Statues or rather Images have no pretentions to correctness of Character or even proportion but are faithfully delineated in order to covey a just representation of one of the Whims of this most truly excentric Character whose many singularities of Conduct / and Speculations by which he acquired from the smallest beginings a splendid Fortune are to be found in the Account of his Life Written by himself Published at Newbury Port / Boston Published according to Act of Congress". Paper label on backing paper, typed inscription: "Although this aquatint is unsigned, Stauffer in his / American Engravers on Copper and Steel (published by the Grolier Club in 1907) lists it, # 2939, as the / work of John Rubens Smith, an Englishman and son of / the famous 18th century mezzotint engraver John Raphael / Smith. John Rubens came to this country early in the 18 hundreds and in 1810-11 he made a series of 5 draw- / ings now owned by the Boston Public Library and pop- / ularly know as 'the cutting down of Beacon Hill.' Bufford made a series of colored lithographs from these drawings in 1857. / By 1816 Smith was painting portraits, engraving, and / conducting a drawing school. Among his known pupils / were Sully, Agate, Cummings, Lentze and Swain R. / Gifford." Charcoal crayon inscription on backing paper: "F-2". Gilded gesso over molded wood frame with exterior reeding and beaded interior trim; glazed.

Material:

Paper

Dimensions:

H-14.9 W-26.8 inches

Credit Line:

New Hampshire Historical Society Collection

People:

Dexter, Timothy (1748-1806), Smith, John Rubens (1775-1849)

Subjects:

house