[ALBUM OF PROOF ENGRAVINGS]

[c.1813-1820]. Octavo. Contemporary half roan over marbled boards. Blue card endpapers. The contents comprising 21 proof engravings by John Romney after both his own drawings as well as works by other artists including Richard Westall, Henry Corbould, and Thomas Stothard, mounted on tabs and interleaved with thick blank paper leaves. Most of the engravings are captioned in pencil at the foot in a contemporary hand. The binding is somewhat fragile with both boards held by cords only and with wear and rubbing to the boards. The contents with varying scattered foxing (heavy to some plates, with others completely clean) are otherwise in good order. A curious bound collection of proof engravings by the English printmaker John Romney (1785-1863). Born in Chester, Romney spent much of his life in the city, although also lived and worked in London for a period. Amongst his more noted engravings were his 200 or so views produced for Augustus Pugin's 'Paris and its Environs' (1839-31), as well as his topographical works, 'Views of Ancient Buildings in Chester' (1851-54) and 'Chester and its Environs Illustrated' (1846-55). Also an accomplished watercolourist, Romney often exhibited at the Royal Academy, and eight of his works now reside in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London.

The present volume - perhaps put together by a contemporary admirer/collector of Romney's work, or else by the artist himself as a record or advertisement for his printmaking - contains a number of fine proof copies of his engravings for several published books, including Oliver Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield (1813) and Thomas Moore's Lalla Rookh (1817), amongst others.