Etching printed on Japanese paper, 1857-8
Like Annie (above), this was among the earliest etchings that Whistler made whilst staying with the family of his half-sister Deborah and her husband Seymour Haden. Whistler’s nephew Seymour was about seven years old at the time.
This is one of a group of impressions of early plates in the Fitzwilliam (like Fumette, The Tinker, Mother Gerard, Street at Saverne, The Mustard Seller and Vauxhall Bridge) that were probably printed at the same time on similar Japanese paper, and have remained together ever since. One of the other plates is dated 1861 (Vauxhall Bridge), giving the earliest possible printing date for the whole group; this was a time when ‘The French Set’ and other plates by Whistler were being printed in London by Delâtre for Serjeant Thomas.
Given by G. J. F. Knowles 1954 in exchange for an impression given in 1921
Collections record: P.2075-R
