Lowther Castle, Westmorland, Antique Morris Woodblock Print, circa 1870

The full width of a battlemented skyline is shown in this antique print of Lowther Castle, Westmorland, a color woodblock country house view from Morris's Picturesque Views of Seats, printed by Benjamin Fawcett circa 1870. The long composition rises to a cluster of tall, thin turrets over the central block, with lower castellated wings extending to towers at either end.

A balustraded terrace, its coping set with urns at intervals, runs along the front of the house above a broad expanse of open lawn. Distant hills in pale blue-gray close the view behind the castle and suggest the surrounding fell country, while the sky is kept light, soft cloud over a pale ground. The masonry is rendered in a cool gray stone tone throughout, with the many small openings, arrow-slit windows, tracery and battlements kept crisp enough to remain legible as individual features rather than dissolving into a single gray mass.

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 Lowther Castle, Westmorland, 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. Margins are full, with the title Lowther Castle set in small capitals beneath 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 small nicks along the lower edge from the former binding. Please review the images for further condition details.

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