Eden Hall, Cumberland, Antique Morris Woodblock Print, circa 1870

Great cedars and a bright bedding scheme fill this antique print of Eden Hall, Cumberland, printed in color by Benjamin Fawcett for Morris's Picturesque Views of Seats, circa 1870. The country house view is taken from within the pleasure grounds rather than the open park, a pair of large cedars with spreading, tiered branches in dense dark green dominating the left foreground.

A circular flower bed planted in bands of red, orange and white occupies the lawn just in front of the house, each color held crisply within a very confined area of the sheet. The house itself, a plain classical block with a projecting bay and simple sash windows, is kept modest in scale and set back beyond the garden. Clipped shrubbery and low ornamental planting run along the lawn's edge toward the right, and further trees close the view behind the house, so the designed garden carries the main visual interest as much as the architecture.

Its source is A Series of Picturesque Views of Seats of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland, edited by the Reverend Francis Orpen Morris (1810 to 1893), naturalist and author of the History of British Birds, for the London publisher William Mackenzie, with drawings largely by Alexander Francis Lydon; this plate is from an issue of circa 1870. The color was printed from woodblocks by Benjamin Fawcett (1808 to 1893) of Driffield, who also printed Morris's bird books: a color wood engraving built from separate blocks in register, not hand colored.

Admirers of the house, anyone with ties to Cumberland and collectors of English country house views will enjoy this antique print of Eden Hall, Cumberland, an original Victorian plate removed from the book and suitable for framing. The print retains wide, untrimmed margins, with the title Eden Hall set 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, a small pale stain below the image, light foxing near the lower right corner 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.