CHAPTER VIII. SILHOUETTE DECORATION ON PORCELAIN AND GLASS—THE

SILHOUETTE THEATRE 81

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF SILHOUETTISTS, MAKERS OF SILHOUETTE MOUNTS AND OTHERS CONNECTED WITH THE CRAFT 87

BIBLIOGRAPHY 117

INDEX LXXIII

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Portrait of a Private in an English Regiment _Frontispiece_

FACING PAGE

Silhouette Portraits of the Ansley Family 1 _Painted in black and orange-red on convex glass_

Silver Wedding Anniversary Picture 16 _With portraits and emblems_

Captain Robert Conig 32 _Of H.M. 90th Regiment of Infantry_

Silhouette Portraits of Members of the Ansley Family 48 _Painted in black and orange-red on convex glass_

Portrait of Lord Mansfield 64 _Painted in black and gold on glass_

Silhouette Portrait of a Man 80 _Painted in black and gold on glass_

Silhouette Portrait of a Lady 96

Painted Silhouettes 112

Illustrations in Monochrome I to LXXII

PREFACE.

It has not been easy to gather up the threads of history concerning an art and handicraft long fallen into desuetude. Amongst the few who still work at black profile portraiture, none has been found who is cognisant of the traditions, nor who has any knowledge of the complex processes by means of which the fine eighteenth-century work was accomplished.

My sincere thanks are due to Mrs. Head, Mrs. Whitmore, Madame Nossof, Mrs. Wadmore, Mrs. Lea Carson (of Philadelphia), Mrs. Whetridge, Mr. Francis Wellesley, Mr. H. Palmer, Mr. Desmond Coke, Mr. Holworthy, Captain Pringle, Mr. H. Terrell (of Boston), Mr. Laurence Park, Dr. Beetham (descendant of Mrs. Beetham, the fine eighteenth-century silhouettist), Mr. J. A. Field, for the interesting series of portraits painted by his great-grandfather, and many others, who, possessing silhouettes, have allowed me to visit and make a study of their collections or have sent specimens for examination. Without their courtesy, and that of many others who gave me facilities for studying some thousands of specimens and advertisements, it would have been impossible to write this book. A subject on which there exists no written history, and which has hitherto received scant attention, requires much research amongst a large number of examples, amongst old newspaper matter, contemporary social history, and the trade labels of the silhouettists, for its faithful record.

More especially I am grateful to those who have kindly permitted me to reproduce their silhouettes, thus making clear to art lovers, and those who take pleasure in the curio, how manifold are the charms of family treasure, which would not otherwise have been available for study. To Herr Julius Leisching, Director Erzerzog Rainer Museum, I am indebted for information concerning silhouettists of Germany and Austria contained in his memorandums of the Industrial Museum; to Sir Sidney Colvin, Keeper of the Prints in the British Museum; to Mr. C. J. Holmes, Director of the National Portrait Gallery; to Mr. T. Corsan Morton, of the National Galleries of Scotland; to Mr. D. E. Roberts, of the Library of Congress, Washington, for access to special collections; to Mr. Horace Cox and Mr. T. P. O’Connor, with regard to pictures under their control in the “Collector” and the Magazine; to Lady Dorothy Nevill, for placing at my disposal the beautiful silhouette work of Princess Elizabeth, daughter of George III.; to Lady Sackville, for allowing me to study the silhouettes of Knole, and to reproduce some of the silhouette porcelain in her possession.

If fresh interest is kindled in the graceful art of the silhouettist, and the names of some little known artists are rescued from oblivion, my pleasant task will not have been in vain. Perhaps those who read these pages will find a charm and wistfulness in the shadow portrait. Beauty is not alone recorded by the brush of great artists, but also by minor workers. Gainsborough painted portraits of beautiful women at Bath, and Charles and Spornberg worked at their shades in the same street; the same clients visited both studios. The silhouette, poor relation of the miniature, the forerunner of Daguerre, shows the Belle of Cheltenham, or the Dandy of Bath and the Wells, appealing and dainty in shadowland, while the laughter of the shadow children echoes ghost-like as we note their toys and sports; they flit across the pages, they cast a shadow, and are gone.

E. J.

_Oak Lodge, Sidcup._