UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW

It was published as The Lime-Burner in A Series of Sixteen Etchings of Scenes on the Thames (the 'Thames Set'), by Ellis & Green in 1871.

The publication, and this etching, were reviewed enthusiastically by F. G. Stephens:

It was first shown at the Royal Academy in 1860 as 'W. Jones, lime burner, Thames Street'. F.G. Stephens commented 'By this gentleman, whose name is quite new to us, is an admirable series of etchings.' 16 In the following year it was shown with the rest of the 'Thames Set' in London. 17

After publication in 1871, it was shown as 'The Limeburners' by James Anderson Rose (1819-1890) in Liverpool and elsewhere, and by Whistler himself, as 'The Limeburner’s Yard' in London in 1874. 18 In 1879, an impression was exhibited by Craibe Angus in Glasgow. Other print dealer's shows followed, at H. Wunderlich & Co. (1898, 1903) and F. Keppel & Co. in New York and at Obach & Co. in London (1903). Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) bought one from the 1898 show (). 19

Unusual proofs from connoisseur's collections contributed to exhibitions by clubs such as the Union League Club in New York, lent by Samuel Putnam Avery (1822-1904), in 1881 (), and the Caxton Club in Chicago, lent by Bryan Lathrop (1844-1916) in 1900 ( or ). 20

It starred in major international exhibitions including Berlin in 1881, the Glasgow International Exhibition in 1888, lent by Bernard Buchanan MacGeorge (1845?-1924), 21 the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, and the annual exhibitions of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1879 and 1902. Howard Mansfield (1849-1938) lent an impression to the 1902 show, which has not been located (). 22

Finally, impressions featured in the large Whistler Memorial Exhibitions including New York and Boston in 1904 and London in 1905 (lent by the Royal Collection and sold shortly after the show). 23

A first state of The Lime-burner was among the first of Whistler's etchings to be sold to a public collection. It was then listed as 'Jones Limeburner. Thames Street' among 16 etchings sold for a total of £10.10.10 by Francis Seymour Haden, Sr (1818-1910) to South Kensington Museum on 1 January 1861 (). 24

Of the early impressions of the first state, the artist gave one to his mother () and another to a friend, James Reeves Traer (ca 1834- d.1867) ()'. 25 He inscribed others to George Aloysius Lucas (1824-1909) () and an 'early proof -' to William Cleverly Alexander (1840-1916) (). However the most notable person to acquire an impression was Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas (1834-1917) ().

Among public collections, the British Museum acquired one in 1874 (); and Alphonse Wyatt Thibaudeau (ca 1840- d.1892) sold one ('Der Kalkbrenner') to the Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin, in 1882 (). E.D. Wallace (fl. 1871-1887), American, poet, novelist and writer on art, reported in detail on a visit to the British Museum to see Whistler's works:

'let us go to the temple of art and science, and, provided with a "reader's ticket," and "special admission to the print room," we find in a row of elegantly bound folio cases, labeled "Etchings of British Artists," the jealously guarded works of Mr. Whistler, of Baltimore. We are cautioned by the clerk, who unlocks an immense case of pictures handsomely mounted on gilt edged boards, "to handle the treasures carefully," for there are no duplicates if those exquisite drypoints, and the British Museum is the only place in the world where they can be seen. 26 ... The very first glance at Mr. Whistler's etchings is sufficient for a lover of art to learn that every picture is copied from nature direct, and each subject has its characteristic point brought out by a master hand. Whether a river scene in open daylight, or a cabaret by lamplight, ... all are fully expressed, boldly or delicately, as the fancy may seize the artist, and every touch of the needle leaves a striking detail of the perfect composition of a rare genius. ...There are twenty views at least of the Thames and its bridges, ... "The Limeburners" is considered a happy effort in the portraits of the men, the disposition of light, and the breadth of the treatment of the subject. ... 27

In an auction at Sotheby's on 22-23 January 1886, 'A very tolerable impression of Mr. Whistler's ''Lime-burners'' sold for £2 16s, and one or other even of the more desirable etchings for somewhat smaller sums', reported The Academy. 28

A 'fine early impression' from the collection of John W. Wilson (dates unknown) was sold at auction in 1887 for £3.3.0, and two early impressions were bought by the London print dealer Robert Dunthorne (b. ca 1851) at the sale of the collection of Joshua Hutchinson Hutchinson (ca 1829 - d.1891) for £6.10.0 in 1892 - which was about the highest price reached by this handsome etching - and £2.2.0. 29

Some years later, Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) bought a first state from Wunderlich's in January 1890 () and another, from the collection of Francis Seymour Haden, Sr (1818-1910), in 1898 (). Second states on the whole went to U.S. galleries, and at a later date; for instance one from the collection of Henry F. Sewall (1816-1896) was purchased by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, Harvey D. Parker Collection, in 1897 (). In Britain, a fine impression was acquired by Constantine Alexander Ionides (1833-1900) and bequeathed to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, in 1901 () and another was among fifteen etchings presented by the Trustees of the Public Picture Gallery Fund to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery in June 1904 ().