Cowes Parade Marine Villa of Sir John Coxe Hippesley, Isle of Wight, 1825

An antique line engraving of the marine villa on Cowes Parade, Isle of Wight, lettered by George Brannon as "The Marine Villa of the late Sir John Coxe Hippesley, Bar.t" and published on the first of June 1825. The house stands square to the water behind its lawn and sea wall, with a veranda, tall sash windows and trees screening it from the road, while sailing craft pass on the Solent beyond. Brannon spells the baronet Hippesley on the plate, a spelling collectors will notice, since the family name is more usually written Hippisley. The sheet belongs with the Cowes town views as a record of the private houses built along the Parade by visitors who came for the sailing and stayed for the climate, each one carefully individualized in the engraved line.

The view belongs to Vectis Scenery, George Brannon's series of original and select views of the Isle of Wight, printed and published by the engraver himself at Wotton Common on the island in 1829 and sold by the principal local booksellers. Brannon drew the subjects on the spot and cut the copper plates himself, so draughtsman and engraver are one man throughout. The volume's own advertisement leaf describes a first series of twenty-eight views with a map and letter-press, with a further twenty views issued separately as a Sequel. The technique is line engraving on copper. The views were issued uncolored, as line engravings on white paper, and this impression is uncolored.

Views of named private houses are the backbone of Brannon's appeal to collectors today, because they document island property that has in many cases been altered or lost altogether. Sir John Coxe Hippisley was a Member of Parliament and a well known public figure of the Regency, and his Cowes villa placed him at the center of the fashionable sailing season. The dated imprint of 1825 and the engraved name make this a genuine house portrait rather than a general view, which is what gives it value to a family historian or to an owner on the Parade today. Framed simply, it suits an entrance hall or a seaside house.

Light uneven toning, browner towards the edges. Marked handling soiling along the bottom, right and top edges. Scattered light foxing in the margin. All four corners complete.

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