Title

A View of the Habits of most Countries in the World.

Category

Print

Print type

intaglio

Matrix size

42.0 x 34.5 cm (plate mark?)

Edition information

print run unknown

Production notes

"rare separately issued engraving. Hawkins' charming engraving is a mid-eighteenth-century writing blank - an engraved presentation page within whose decoratively illustrated border the schoolchild would compose a formal sample of their penmanship. Much like its textile equivalent the sampler, the writing blank afforded an opportunity for the child to demonstrate their steady hand. From the late 1600s through to the mid 1800s engraved sheets of this type were distributed throughout schoolhouses as well as being sold by street sellers and hawkers. This example is unused.
The engraved vignettes depict peoples from various regions of the known world, stereotypically posed in traditional costume. Seventeen couples set against topographical backgrounds are illustrated. These are are captioned as follows: A Virginian Indian; A Negro; A Mexican; A Spaniard; A Dutchman; a Polander; A Chinese; A Mogul; A Turk; A Persian; A Tartar; Muscovite; A Laplander; A Hungarian; A Moor; A Hottentot and A Scotch Highlander. At the foot of the sheet is a terrestrial globe.
Hawkins' vignettes are redrawn versions of the illustrations in the frontispiece engraving titled 'A Description of the Habits of most Countries in The World found in A collection of voyages and travels, consisting of authentic writers in our own tongue' (London : Thomas Osborne, 1745), which itself was derived from earlier sources.
A rare and highly ephemeral travel-related broadside printed at the height of the Enlightenment. No institutional example traced." [Douglas Stewart Fine Books]

Country of context

Australia

Creators

Hawkins, Joseph. | (1775–1802) English | Male | engraver

Last Updated

24 Feb 2024