Scratchell's Bay Plate I, The Great Chalk Arch from Seaward, Brannon, 1828

An uncolored copper engraving of Scratchell's Bay, Isle of Wight, lettered by the publisher as Plate I, drawn and engraved by George Brannon and published at Wotton on the second of June 1828. The view is taken from seaward and shows the vast chalk arch in the cliff wall at the western end of the island, the strata sweeping up in curves toward the Needles, with sailing boats small on the water below to measure the height of the rock. The cliff fills almost the whole plate, and Brannon has engraved the bedding of the chalk in long parallel lines that follow the geology rather than the picture, which is why the sheet reads as a geological section as much as a view.

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.

Scratchell's Bay is almost inaccessible by land, and Brannon engraved it in two plates numbered I and II, the first from the sea and the second from inside the cave mouth looking out. They are sold separately here, and each stands perfectly well on its own, but a buyer who takes both gets the subject as the publisher intended it. The chalk at this end of the island is as dramatic as anything on the English coast, and these cliffs have lost rock to the sea steadily since Brannon's day, so early views carry real documentary weight. A tall cliff composition of this kind suits a stairwell, where it is seen from below.

Even age toning. Handling soiling along the bottom and right edges. Scattered light foxing in the margin. All four corners complete. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the left.

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