Very rare series of 12 beautiful large tinted lithographed plates showing the horses from the Royal stud at Hampton Court, after designs by the notable engraver and illustrator William Harvey (1796-1866). They include: an Arabian mare and foal by The Colonel; The Colonel; Nanine; Bay Arabian, "the purest cast, from the Imaum of Muscat"; Wings; Actaeon; Grey Arabian and foals by Actaeon; Black Arabian; Gulnare; Fleur de Lis; Belvoirina; and Maria. The most famous of these is the British-bred The Colonel (1825-1847). The plates show the horses set against an imaginary background and each has a caption giving information on its lineage. We could locate only three other copies, including two in the British Royal collection.
Harvey started out as the (favourite) pupil of the acclaimed Thomas Bewick, who described him as one of "the first in excellence ... who both as engraver & designer stands preeminent at this day" (Memoir, p. 200). Highlights of his work include Lane's translation of The Arabian nights (1839-1841), for which he provided some 600 illustrations.
From the library of Patshull Hall with its small bookplate and shelf marks on paste-down. The plates are not uniformly trimmed, leading in a couple cases to some very minimal wear to the extremities of the protruding leaves, also with some faint spots on the title-page, but otherwise in very good condition. Binding slightly worn along the extremities and rebacked. The British Royal collection, RCIN 817116 & 1070968; WorldCat (1 copy); not in Copac; Dejager; Huth; Mennessier de la Lance; Podeschi.