George Baxter and his Licensees Exhibition, 2002

The glorious weather did not stop about four dozen members and their guests from tearing themselves away from summer barbecues to enjoy one the most varied exhibitions that we have had so far, with about 270 exhibits from the collections of 13 of our members.

Let me tell you about some of the highlights of each section of the exhibition:-

Mansell

There were 46 of Joseph Mansell's productions on show including the, very rare, copies of his prints of Lake Come, River Teify and Netley Abbey which he produced from Baxter's original plates and blocks. These were displayed with Baxter's own prints as a comparison.  There were rare needle prints and an original watercolour of three of his needle box designs.  All were there in addition to Mansell's better known prints of the "Courtships", of which there were rare smaller versions, and "Please Ring
the Bell".

Bradshaw and Blacklock

With over 65 prints on show, the firm of Bradshaw and Blacklock, more famous for the production of railway timetables, were well represented. Their masterpiece, the book "The Pictorial Casket of Gems", similar to but three times bigger than Baxter's "Cabinet of Paintings" was the first item on display surrounded by separate exhibits of the some of the prints it contains. There were several needle sets and a print depicting Queen Victoria and her family alongside similar prints by Le Blond and by Dickes for
comparison. Another interesting comparison to be made was their production of the Raphael Cartoons with those of Baxter and Le Blond.

Kronheim

We only had five of Joseph Kronheim's prints in the exhibition as his work had had an exhibition of its own a couple of years ago. His exhibits included the well known "Village Schoolmaster" and two of his hunting scenes.

Mvers

Myers and Co. were not prolific producers of prints by the Baxter process and it is doubtful if they printed more than a dozen or so subjects. We had six of them displayed including their depiction of the Crystal Palace, with Le Blond's similar print alongside, and that of "The New Houses of Parliament" together with Baxter's and Le Blond's versions.

Le Blond

Although we had already had an exhibition of Le Blond's work we could not skimp on the display of the prints of such an important Licensee of the Baxter process. We had about 30 of his prints in the exhibition, some as comparisons with other licensees work. In the section devoted to him we had one of his rarest and eye catching prints "On the Watch" and one of his best "Virginia Water". There were also several of his ovals which had been taken from the original paintings of John Anthony Puller together with Puller's "The Gleaners" where a direct comparison could be made.

Dickes

William Dickes produced numerous prints by the Baxter process and we had 60 examples of his work on show. His most important illustrated book "Studies from the Great Masters" was first in this section alongside six of the 18 prints that it contains.  We had several sets of prints on display such as "Our Native Songsters" and "The Monthly Flower Garden" together with some of his Reward Cards. An interesting exhibit was his "Dogs of St. Bernard" thought to be a lithograph. We showed it next to
Baxter's original which resulted in the conclusion that they were both from the same plate.

George Baxter Junior

Although not strictly a Licensee we could not leave out the work of Baxter's son George Jnr.. He did not produce many prints by his father's process so this was a small section with some of his needle box prints and including "Watch on the Rhine" as a print and on a music cover. Also shown here were the four prints known as "Posthumous Baxters"; prints with Baxter lettering that were produced, according to Courtney Lewis, long after Baxter's death. It is possible that George Jnr. produced these prints from plates made by his father.

Miscellaneous Items

An interesting and varied section full of pot lids, jars, needle boxes, a paper weight and an Aide Memoire pad, all containing prints by the Baxter process and having the original prints alongside for comparison. There was a superb Scrap Book full of prints that the owner had given permission for us to look through, plus a set of framed documents and letters on the sale of Baxters blocks and plates and on payment for instruction in the Baxter process by Devereux Brothers in the United States. Did they ever produce any prints I wonder?

Forgeries

Well, most of us have been caught out, at one time or another, by a "Wrong 'Un" and no wonder when one looks at the various dodges that slippery customers have put on the market over the years.  On display were prints with fake stamps, mounts or signatures, chromolithographs, productions by photography and the three colour process and laser prints. There were also two copies of a, so called, "Parting Look" with an embossed Baxter stamp but of a different subject altogether and only 5% of the size of the true copy.

Baxter

So we come to the great man himself with forty or so of his prints in the exhibition.  Most were placed next to similar works by his Licensees in various parts of the room, but there was a section where some of his larger portraits were on display including his "Ladies". A nice display to round off the exhibition.

So you can see that there was plenty to keep us all occupied until it was time for tea, sandwiches and cake sitting in the sun or in the hotel's lounge, while the exhibitors rapidly cleared away their prints before they might get amalgamated with those for sale at the Bring and Buy that followed.