UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW

The copper plate bears the maker's oval stamp on the verso: 'C. SERVANT / PLANEUR / 45, B DES GDS AUGUSTINS' . This stamp is found on a group of fourteen plates, which may date between 1888 and 1901, with the majority dating from 1893/1894 : Sunflowers, Marché St Germain, Paris [437], Church Interior [427], Polichinelle, Jardin du Luxembourg [467], The Band, Luxembourg Gardens [466], Under the Statue, Luxembourg Gardens [464], Confections pour Dames [475], Antony's Print Shop, Rue de Seine [477], Arched doorway with figures and a tree [489], Mme Pelletier, Blanchisserie, Paris [481], Boulevard Poissonière, Paris [483], Café Corazza, Paris [484], Sleeping Child, Ajaccio [488], Flaming Forge [490]. The last two definitely date from 1901.

All these etchings are very rare and several were not printed in Whistler's lifetime or at least, no impressions have been recorded. It is possible that the death of Whistler's wife in 1896 and his removal from Paris to London caused plates to be set aside or abandoned. It is also possible that the plates were considered unsatisfactory in some way (for instance, he thought that the Corsican plates had been ruined, because the acid-resistant ground had started to come off).

The copper plate may have been cancelled with crossed diagonal lines and scratches, or these may have been accidental. The plate was in Whistler's studio at his death and was bequeathed to Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958). Miss Philip gave the plate to the University of Glasgow in 1935.