Clifton Hall, Nottinghamshire, Antique Morris Woodblock Print, circa 1870

Formal flower beds brighten the lawn in this antique print of Clifton Hall, Nottinghamshire, printed in color by Benjamin Fawcett for Morris's Picturesque Views of Seats, circa 1870. The country house is taken from an angle that shows both its plain brick garden front and, at the right, a curved bay carried on an arcaded, glazed ground floor, evidently a later addition used as an orangery or garden room.

Stone quoins mark the corners of the main block, and a parish church tower rises among trees just behind the house, placing the building within its village setting. The flower beds, cut into simple oval and circular shapes and planted in mixed color, give a more domestic, gardenesque note than open turf, each small color held in close register within a confined area. The brickwork is printed in a warm, slightly uneven red, with the stone dressings and window surrounds kept a cooler gray, helping the eye separate the older block from the glazed bay beside it.

The Reverend Francis Orpen Morris (1810 to 1893), best known for his History of British Birds, edited A Series of Picturesque Views of Seats of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland, published in London by William Mackenzie, with drawings largely by Alexander Francis Lydon, in an issue of circa 1870. Benjamin Fawcett (1808 to 1893) of Driffield, one of the great Victorian color woodblock printers, printed the plates from separate blocks in register, so the color here is printed, not hand colored.

As an original Victorian plate removed from the book, this antique print of Clifton Hall, Nottinghamshire, is suitable for framing and popular with admirers of the house, with lovers of Nottinghamshire, and with collectors of English country house views. The sheet has its original margins, with the title Clifton Hall 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 margins 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.