UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW

This is a fine, lightly drawn etching, as delicate as a drypoint.

On 29 June [1859] Francis Seymour Haden, Sr (1818-1910) asked Auguste Delâtre (1822-1907) if Ignace-Henri-Jean-Théodore Fantin-Latour (1836-1904) could bring the plate of 'Votre portrait ([é]barbe effacée)' to London (translated: 'Your portrait (burr effaced)'. 10 It is not entirely clear what is being described since this is an etching; possibly there was some preliminary drypoint and that was removed, or the copper plate bore signs of earlier work, scrapes or damage. One impression (reproduced below) does appear to have a slightly ragged edge and foul biting at upper right, which could mean that this was an early impression and that this rough area was removed later ().

This area is not nearly so conspicuous on the two impressions signed, and presumably printed, by Delâtre (, ). Only a few impressions of the etching before cancellation have been located. One is printed in black ink on cream 'antique' (pre-1800) laid paper (), and others on dark cream laid (, ) and 'modern' laid paper (, ). These were probably printed by Delâtre.

It is likely that as many as twenty impressions were printed from the cancelled plate and published in 1879 by the Fine Art Society. They are printed in black ink on laid paper; including, for instance, two examples on ivory laid paper, which have the Strasbourg Lily () and 'Van Gelder' () watermarks.