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1

Sketches on the Coast Survey Plate

Freer Gallery of Art
Accession no: 1913.198
State: 1/1

Collection credit:Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution  
Image credit:Photo © Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution  
Provenance:Possibly printed posthumously. H. Wunderlich & Co., New York (stock no. a 45203). Bought from W. K. Bixby, St Louis, by C. L. Freer (1856-1919) Detroit, MI, in December 1913 (receipt, 18 December 1913); bequeathed to the Freer Gallery of Art in 1919.  

 

Paper size:256 x 317 mm  
Plate mark size:145 x 259 mm  
Note on size:copper plate measures 149 x 265 including bevel  
Paper trimmed to pmk?:no  
Colour of the paper:ivory  
Paper type (wove, laid, Japan etc):laid  
Note on the paper:'antique' laid (pre 1800); with much debris - uneven distribution; with horizontal chain lines; removed from the book.  
Tab?:no  
Watermarks:none  
Medium:etching  
Ink colour:dark brown  
Additional work on the print, e.g. in pencil:no  
Print tone:light regular plate tone over the image area  
Note on foul biting:Traces around the sketches at the top of the plate and in the blank area along the bottom; small dark spot at the lower right corresponds to corrosion on the copper plate.  
Print note:See Freer 1898.411 with more pronounced foul biting and plate scratches; light plate tone within platemark with sharp edges carefully manipulated. Copper plate has been compared to this impression; perhaps one of about 25-30 impressions printed posthumously by XXX (see letter from him to CLF dated XXX). Inscription on the etching's folder sheet: "According to Mr. C.H. Deetz, of the Coast and Geodetic Surbey (October, 1930), this section of the coast represents a view of Harding Ledge, Boston Bay, SE approach, vicinity of Minot's light. See Coast and Geodetic Survey Chart 337 of Boston Harbor, presented to FGA by the Coast and Geodetic Survey on Dec. 23, 1937 (courtesy of Mr. C.H. Deetz.) Done at Washington, D.C., in the Engraving Division of the United States Coast Survey, between November 7, 1854, and February 12, 1855. Often called 'Coast Survey Plate No. 1.'"  

 

Whistler's sign on plate:'JW'  
Inscriptions by Whistler on the plate:no  
Inscriptions by others on the plate:no  
Whistler's signature on paper:no  
Inscriptions by Whistler on the paper:no  
Tab signed/inscribed:no  
Note on the tab:  

 

Printer's signature (e.g. Goulding):no  
Notes on inscriptions: M. Smith wrote in pencil, verso: F1913.198 K1  
Collector's mark:no  
Dealers' stock nos:'a 45203' on verso  
Misc inscriptions by others: '13.198 K.1 M.1' on recto; '13.198.' Veritype inscription in pencil, verso  

 

Source of information:Whistler Etchings Project and museum records  
ID:K0010105  

All inscriptions are in graphite pencil unless otherwise stated.