Rare - Lady Jane Grey - Queen Of England For Nine order Days - Executed By Mary Tudor in 1553 - 3 x Artist Before Letters Working Proofs

Three Artist 'Before Letters' Working Proofs of Lady Jane Grey, aka Lady Jane Dudley, 1537 - 1554. Titular Queen of England for nine days in 1553. Executed by Mary Tudor. Engraved By H Robinson (John Henry Robinson is the same person) After G Staal circa 1858.

2 x 17.5cm x 21cm
1 x 24.3cm x 31cm

Like many of our other listings these three artist before letters proofs are extremely rare - other dealers would probably sell then individually - though these came together and formed part of John Henry Robinson's own portfolio of works; this piece was commissioned to appear in the book "World Noted Women" by Mary Cowden Clarke, published in 1858.

It cannot be emphasized enough when it comes to the majority of our listings; which is they are "Artist Working Proofs" directly sourced from John Henry Robinson's personal portfolio of works. This means that many of the archival collections in the NPG, RAA and V&A museum of the same subject matter are in fact later editions - "copies". Whereas, our collection are not only aesthetically pleasing, they have an academic and historic interest, as they were never intended to be published in their current state/s and to have remained private.

Our collection is 100% genuine and sourced directly from John Henry Robinson's own portfolio - see further details below.

Robinson was one of the nine eminent engravers who, in 1836, petitioned the House of Commons on the state engraving in this country, and who with others in 1837, addressed a petition to the king asking for the admission of engravers to the highest rank in the Royal Academy: which was not conceded until some years later. In 1856, Robinson was elected an "associate engraver of the new class", and in the following year missed election as a full member only by the casting vote of Sir Charles Eastlake, which was given to George Thomas Doo; on the retirement of the latter in 1867 he was elected a royal academician.

Robinson received a first-class gold medal at the Paris International Exhibition of 1855. He died at New Grove, Petworth, Sussex, where he had long resided, on 21 October 1871, aged 75. Late in life he married a lady of property, which rendered him financially independent of his art. He was a justice of the peace for the county of Sussex and an honorary member of the Imperial Academy of the Fine Arts at St. Petersburg.

Overseas postal cost is rather expensive due to size of engraving and Royal Mail order prices!