Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, Antique Morris Woodblock Print, circa 1870

Golden stone towers and turrets crown a wooded hill in this antique print of Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, a color woodblock country house view printed by Benjamin Fawcett for Morris's Picturesque Views of Seats, circa 1870. The castle is taken from well back and below, so that it appears only above a dense band of woodland covering the hill on which it stands.

The building occupies a relatively small part of the sheet, its detail generalised at this distance, while the wooded hillside is given the greater share of the composition. The woodland is built from a range of greens, darker and more saturated in the deep shadow of the massed trees and lighter and more yellow-green where the canopy catches the light near the crown of the hill. In the foreground a path crosses open parkland with a small figure, evidently a shepherd, a dog and a scatter of sheep, adding a touch of everyday activity to the wide middle distance. It is a panoramic view, building atmosphere and distance from broad, graded color areas.

William Mackenzie of London published A Series of Picturesque Views of Seats of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland from the 1860s to the 1880s, edited by the Reverend Francis Orpen Morris (1810 to 1893), the clergyman and naturalist of History of British Birds fame; this plate is from an issue of circa 1870. Benjamin Fawcett (1808 to 1893) of Driffield, among the finest color woodblock printers of the Victorian period, printed each color from its own block in register; the color is printed rather than applied by hand.

This antique print of Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, is an original Victorian plate removed from the book, ready for framing, and a fine choice for owners and admirers of the house or collectors of English country house views. The sheet carries its original margins, with the title Belvoir Castle lettered in small capitals below the image.

This antique print is in good condition for its age. The paper shows light toning consistent with age, together with a few small spots in the upper margin and a line of binding holes along the lower edge, where the plate was once bound into the book. Please review the images for further condition details.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.