Suite of 226 etchings (of 366) from Deuchar's scarce A Collection of Etchings, 1803 apparently almost all of Vols. 1 and 2 of the 3-volume set.
The engravings are trimmed to the plate mark and mounted on cream paper, from one to five to a page, ranging in size from 4cm x 4cm to 14cm x 19cm.
Some etchings are signed Deuchar, a few have the artist's name (e.g., Bega, Ostade, Vliet, Castiglione) and most are dated from 1783 to 1802.
The suite includes religious scenes and beggars by Rembrandt, several heads by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, many rustic scenes by Adriaen van Ostade, and a few after Stefano Della Bella, Hendrick Vliet and Cornelis Bega, five plates from Robert Watson's Five Senses suite, and two plates by Adriaen Brouwer (engraved by Thomas Major). Subjects include tavern scenes, gamblers, drunks and smokers, school scenes, bagpipers and fiddlers, tradespeople, lovers, beggars, ice-skaters, etc.
Deuchar's original designs can be recognized by their subjects in 18th century Scottish dress, a crofter in tam o'shanter, a man in trews in a cottage, a gang of highwaymen, a fiddler in a market square, etc.
With Deuchar's trade stamp on final page, David Deuchar Lapidary, Edinburgh, cuts and sels al sorts of fine stones viz rings, stones, seals, picture backs etc., glasses, and many others. NB sels emery, rottenstone, etc. within a decorative frame of grapes, figures, heads and foliage, surmounted by two cupids supporting an oval bust of a lady with the motto, Gives the highest price for uncut stones.
David Deuchar (1743-1808) was a Scottish etcher, goldsmith and engraver born in Montrose and active in Edinburgh. He and Alexander Deuchar were appointed Seal-Engravers to George, Prince of Wales, around 1786. He published a series of etchings based on Hans Holbein's Dance of Death (actually copied from the Wenceslaus Hollar engravings) in 1788, and published this collection of etchings in 1803.
In half leather with five raised bands, gilt title and tooling on spine, cloth-covered boards, worn and scuffed, a.e.g., marble endpapers, book block solid, engravings mostly clean with some scattered foxing. Facsimile of engraved title page loosely inserted in front. A very good collection of plates in a fair binding.
(JP)
