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Nut Shop, St James's Place, Houndsditch

Impression: Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
(1917.486)
Number: 356
Date: 1887
Medium: etching and drypoint
Size: 128 x 178 mm
Signed: butterfly at left and (faint) at lower right
Inscribed: no
Set/Publication: no
No. of States: 2
Known impressions: 5
Catalogues: K.291; M.285
Impressions taken from this plate  (5)

TECHNIQUE

The first known state of this plate is in pure etching, except for a small group of right to left diagonal drypoint lines (///) above the heads of the woman and man at far right. Whistler added more etched shading in the second state, at which time the upper left corner of the plate (seen at upper right in the print) came in contact with acid, creating a patch of foul biting.

PRINTING

There was a small print run: impressions were printed in black ink on laid paper, two of the first state having partial 'PRO PATRIA AS' watermarks (Graphic with a link to impression #K2910102, Graphic with a link to impression #K2910103). Others are on cream 'modern' (post-1800) (Graphic with a link to impression #K2910203) and off-white laid paper (Graphic with a link to impression #K2910202). All are trimmed to the platemark and signed on the tab with a butterfly and 'imp.' to show that Whistler had printed them. In 1889 Whistler noted that he had only two impressions in stock, one of which was probably that given later to Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) (Graphic with a link to impression #K2910203). 12

12: 18 July 1889, GUW #13235.