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London, May 1, 1789. Proposals for publishing by subscription, by William Hamilton, R.A. and P.W. Tomkins, engraver, to be dedicated, by permission, to the Governor, Deputy Governor, and Directors of the Bank of England, a print from the tansparent [sic] painting exhibited on the 24th April last, in the front of the Bank, in celebration of His Majesty's complete recovery and public visit to St. Paul's Cathedral. ...
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HAMILTON, William (1751--1801)
London, May 1, 1789. Proposals for publishing by subscription, by William Hamilton, R.A. and P.W. Tomkins, engraver, to be dedicated, by permission, to the Governor, Deputy Governor, and Directors of the Bank of England, a print from the tansparent [sic] painting exhibited on the 24th April last, in the front of the Bank, in celebration of His Majesty's complete recovery and public visit to St. Paul's Cathedral. ...
London (Place), [1789].
[4] p. ; 32.9 cm. (2º)
Folded sheet printed on the rectos; versos blank. Drop-head title. Page [3] contains a 'Description Of The Transparent Painting For The Center of the Bank. By William Hamilton, ...'. 'The Print will be accompanied with an accurate View of the grand Illumination of the whole Front, as designed by, and executed under the Direction of, John Soane, ...'. The plates were to be 30" x 19", and the price to subscribers for both prints was to be 2 guineas for ordinary copies, 3 guineas for proof prints, or 4 guineas for coloured prints. Subscriptions were received at Boydell's, Cheapside; at the Shakespeare Gallery, Pall Mall; at Mr. Dickenson's, Bond Street; at Mr. Hamilton's, Dean Street; and at Mr. Tomkins', North End. In April 1789, six months after Soane's appointment as architect to the Bank of England, George III's recovery from madness was celebrated with the illumination of the Threadneedle Street façade of the Bank with a central transparent allegorical painting by William Hamilton R.A., illuminated by lamps, festoons of garlands, medallions and stars, thousands of coloured lights strung together along the roof line and between the windows, and ornamental urns containing flaming torches. The scheme was designed and executed under Soane's direction. Five preliminary drawings are also in Soane's library (SM Vol 60/19--23), as is a hand-coloured copy of the published view of the façade, published in 1790 (SM Drawer 10/1/2). See M. Richardson & M. Stevens (eds), John Soane architect: master of space and light, Royal Academy of Arts, 1999, p. 222, cat. 117; Gillian Darley, John Soane: an accidental romantic (London 1999), p. 92.
Copy Notes On blank verso of second leaf there is a pen-and-ink sketch of an architectural feature, cornice or ledge. Some time after October 1831 (the date of the binding) the prospectus together with an attached set of miscellaneous assorted papers was tipped-on to the front free-endpaper of J. Smart, Tables of interest, discount, annuities &c ..., by John Smart ..., Now revised ... by Charles Brand, 1780 (q.v.).
Binding Folded paper.
Reference Number 495
Additional Names Bank of England; Tomkins, Peltro William (1759--1840); George III, King of Great Britain (1738--1820) - Celebrations; Soane, Sir John (1753--1837). Designs for Public and Private Buildings - Criticism
London, May 1, 1789. Proposals for publishing by subscription, by William Hamilton, R.A. and P.W. Tomkins, engraver, to be dedicated, by permission, to the Governor, Deputy Governor, and Directors of the Bank of England, a print from the tansparent [sic] painting exhibited on the 24th April last, in the front of the Bank, in celebration of His Majesty's complete recovery and public visit to St. Paul's Cathedral. ...
London (Place), [1789].
[4] p. ; 32.9 cm. (2º)
Folded sheet printed on the rectos; versos blank. Drop-head title. Page [3] contains a 'Description Of The Transparent Painting For The Center of the Bank. By William Hamilton, ...'. 'The Print will be accompanied with an accurate View of the grand Illumination of the whole Front, as designed by, and executed under the Direction of, John Soane, ...'. The plates were to be 30" x 19", and the price to subscribers for both prints was to be 2 guineas for ordinary copies, 3 guineas for proof prints, or 4 guineas for coloured prints. Subscriptions were received at Boydell's, Cheapside; at the Shakespeare Gallery, Pall Mall; at Mr. Dickenson's, Bond Street; at Mr. Hamilton's, Dean Street; and at Mr. Tomkins', North End. In April 1789, six months after Soane's appointment as architect to the Bank of England, George III's recovery from madness was celebrated with the illumination of the Threadneedle Street façade of the Bank with a central transparent allegorical painting by William Hamilton R.A., illuminated by lamps, festoons of garlands, medallions and stars, thousands of coloured lights strung together along the roof line and between the windows, and ornamental urns containing flaming torches. The scheme was designed and executed under Soane's direction. Five preliminary drawings are also in Soane's library (SM Vol 60/19--23), as is a hand-coloured copy of the published view of the façade, published in 1790 (SM Drawer 10/1/2). See M. Richardson & M. Stevens (eds), John Soane architect: master of space and light, Royal Academy of Arts, 1999, p. 222, cat. 117; Gillian Darley, John Soane: an accidental romantic (London 1999), p. 92.
Copy Notes On blank verso of second leaf there is a pen-and-ink sketch of an architectural feature, cornice or ledge. Some time after October 1831 (the date of the binding) the prospectus together with an attached set of miscellaneous assorted papers was tipped-on to the front free-endpaper of J. Smart, Tables of interest, discount, annuities &c ..., by John Smart ..., Now revised ... by Charles Brand, 1780 (q.v.).
Binding Folded paper.
Reference Number 495
Additional Names Bank of England; Tomkins, Peltro William (1759--1840); George III, King of Great Britain (1738--1820) - Celebrations; Soane, Sir John (1753--1837). Designs for Public and Private Buildings - Criticism