A Pretty Copy: P.14885-R

Current Location: In storage

Titles

A Pretty Copy
Portrait of Dr. Isaac Gossett

Maker(s)

Printmaker: Unknown

Entities

Satirical print

Description

Etching on wove paper. Proof printed on a sheet of Whatman paper (visible watermark along left margin) with deckled edges. Half-length caricature of a middle-aged man with a large head, large nose and with furrowed brow and leering grin. He wears a tricorn hat from which a few curls of hair can be seen escaping onto his right shoulder. He rests his elbows on a table. Shelves lined with books are seen behind him. He holds a book titled 'HUDIBRAS'. Another book open on the table is inscribed: 'A / Catalogue / of / Books / to be sold / by [Au]ction / The Rev / I. Gossett / D.D.F.R.S.'. A hand holding a hammer can be seen in faint outline to the left. An inkstand with quill in the centre foreground. An illegible inscription written in graphite in a tiny hand runs along the lower margin. According to George and O'Donoghue, the location is Lochee's auction-room. Gossett (1735-1812) was a bibliographer and collector of books on classics and theology. He was a familiar figure in the salerooms of London book auctioneers. Gossett was a short man who suffered deformity and ill-health. See Notes. Most commonly found as a coloured impression, See BM and Library of Congress, 2006681885.