Print: Mansell – A full uncut sheet as taken straight from Mansell’s presses in the 1850’s printed by Baxter’s patent process.

Mansell himself never gave these individual prints titles just showing the sheet number ‘20’ at the bottom just under the prints. When the New Baxter Society catalogued them in 2006 they gave them the following numbers and titles:
 
74 - The Billet Doux, 75 - The Proposal, 76 - Courting Days’
77 - An Evening Meeting, 78 - The Wedding, 79 -  A Dream of Bygone Days
 
The series of prints shows a slightly ironic view of the process of Marriage, from an initial letter, through the proposal and subsequent marriage but once married, dreaming of how it used to be….
 
This sheet was part of a dealer’s stock, recently purchased that included a number of these sheets all with pristine colours. They must have been together as a batch since the day they were printed, hence retaining their excellent colours, roughly 170 years ago.
 
Date: 1850’s
 
Size (cm ht x w): 21.2 x 24.5 (full sheet)
 
State: On full uncut sheet as taken from press included registration holes to align the colour blocks
 
Condition: Pristine colours, light toning to sheet edges