Orme's Collection of British Field Sports Racing P3 1799/1812 S. Howitt

Colored engraving from “Orme’s Collection of British Field Sports: Illustrated in Twenty Beautifully Coloured Engravings from Designs by S. Howitt” published by Edward Orme of London 1812 (who proudly labeled himself as “Printseller to the King”) called Racing P3. The technique of aquatinting, so named because the resulting prints have the look of watercolor and ink, was popular among English printmakers of the late 18th and 19th century. This is some of  Howitt’s best works and was a prized collection piece among early 19th-century collectors. 

The engraving is in good condition, with colors that are still vibrant – no small feat for fragile works on paper that are over TWO HUNDRED years old. 

Creator:Howitt, Samuel, 1756-1822.

Originally Published: August 3, 1799

Re-published: 1812

Publisher:Edward Orme*

Title:Partridge Netting

Title(s): Orme’s collection of British field sports : illustrated in twenty beautifully coloured engravings from designs by S. Howitt.

Additional Title(s):Collection of British field sports

Size:11 3/4” x 8 3/4”

Samuel Howitt (English, 1765-1822) was an artist known for his images of hunting, animals, and equestrian scenes. He collaborated with five different engravers on this series. The technique of aquatinting, so named because the resulting prints have the look of watercolor and ink, was popular among English printmakers of the late 18th and 19th century. This set includes some of Howitt’s best works and was a prized collection piece among early 19th-century collectors. 

Draughtsman and engraver; brother-in-law of Thomas Rowlandson (q.v.). Produced sporting prints from about 1791, a few of which he published himself, but mostly he worked for other publishers. Active from 1801-5 as a publisher of caricatures, many of which he most probably etched himself under the pseudonym of Giles Grinagain (qv); others are by Rowlandson.

Samuel Howitt occupies a unique position in the rich history of British sporting art.  A completely self-taught artist, Howitt received a rural sportsman’s upbringing in Nottinghamshire.  In London he lived at the heart of the city’s smartest young social set, only turning to his art seriously when he fell into financial difficulty.  What followed was a productive and highly acclaimed career as a painter and illustrator of a remarkably broad range of sporting subjects.  Howitt combined his sportsman’s upbringing with a highly evolved and original visual style to create some of the most vibrant and engaging images from this great period of British sporting art.

For those of you who have prints hanging on your walls at home and have wondered what the abbreviations stand for, here is a quick Latin lesson:
del. is short for delineavit, meaning  “Drawn By” excudit means “Printed by” or “Published by”sculp. or sculpt. is short for sculpsit, which means “Engraved by”.

This auction is for one engraving – Racing P3

Other artwork in the same collection by Samuel Howitt on sale/auction under separate listings are:

Coursing P1 (1798)

Stag Hunting P3 (1798)

Worm Fishing (1799)

Racing P1 (1799)

Hare Hunting P1 (1799)

Hare Hunting P2 (1799)

Untitled (1799)

Partridge Netting (1799)

Racing P4 (1800)

*Edward Orme (1775-1848)

Orme was an engraver and painter. One of his portraits was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1801. He did 700 etchings or painting, some of which are in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery. He was an engraver to King George III from 1799 to 1820, and to the Prince of Wales from 1799 to 1830.

Orme opened a shop as a printmaker on Conduit Street in Mayfair in 1800. A year later, in 1801, he opened another shop on the corner of New Bond Street and Brook Street. He published many books of aquatints and etchings, including Rudiments of Landscape in 1801 and Historic, Military, and Naval Anecdotes in 1819.