IDENTIFIERS ----------- id: 214289 accession number: P.14345-R-4 DATE AUDIT ---------- created: Tuesday 14 February 2017 updated: Friday 26 January 2018 DESCRIPTIVE DATA ---------------- object type: A preparatory drawing in graphite with tonal contrasts in grey wash on cream wove paper for a comic valentine. The male figure depicted appears to be a bookbinder. He stands at a table holding two large books. He wears an apron and a square, box-like hat on his oversized head. A pen and ink inscription at upper left: "Mr Marks Sir / I hope thou will pleas[sic] / have the goodness [...] / the cash. Mr B hard up". A steel nail is pinned through the upper left corner of the paper, which goes through the album leaf behind. One of a group bought at a sale, the catalogue clipping affixed to the same album leaf: "749 - Original wash Valentine Drawings - A collection of 8 executed for Messrs. Marks & Co. by BRITTAIN ...". This group of valentines was bought in 1924 from the bookseller, R.S. Frampton who was based at "Walton House", 37 Fonthill Road, Finsbury Park, London, N4. The bookseller's catalogue (No. 35), with several lot descriptions cut from it, was found in boxes containing Glaisher's valentines. See P.14529-R. See also P.14345-R-3 and P.14345-R-5 - P.14345-R-10, for the other valentines in this group. This drawing is mentioned in a letter from Glaisher to Catherine Parsons: 'Among the Valentines there should be one from Mr Britain, a sketch of a rude one sent to the publisher with a note in Mrs B's ill[.......] handwriting "Mr B hard up". I did not notice it yesterday, but it may be among them.'. Fitzwilliam Museum, MS 890-1985, September 7th, 1924, letter to Miss Catherine Parsons. Glaisher often referred to comic valentines as either 'rude' or 'ugly'. The drawings were probably produced for S. Marks & Sons, who specialised in comic valentines during the 1850s. The artist, 'Brittain' is unknown. title: Valentine card LICENSING --------- text license status: CC0 image license status: CC-BY-NC-SA OWNERSHIP --------- instutition: The Fitzwilliam Museum department: Paintings, Drawings and Prints creditline: Bequeathed by Dr J. W. L. Glaisher, 1928 STABLE URL ---------- url: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/214289 TECHNIQUES ---------- wash (grey) TECHNIQUES ---------- graphite CATEGORIES ------ category: print category: album DATING ------ creation date: 1850 - 1860 creation date earliest: 1850 creation date latest: 1860 culture: 19th Century CREATORS -------- maker: S. Marks & Sons IMAGES surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/pdp/pdp77/P_14345_R_4_1_201701_amt49_dc2.jpg height: 1024 pixels width: 825 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/pdp/pdp77/mid_P_14345_R_4_1_201701_amt49_dc2.jpg height: 621 pixels width: 500 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/pdp/pdp77/P_14345_R_4_1_201701_amt49_dc2.jpg height: 1024 pixels width: 825 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/pdp/pdp77/preview_P_14345_R_4_1_201701_amt49_dc2.jpg height: 310 pixels width: 250 pixels