Engraving, Mrs. Verschoyle, Heaths Book Of Beauty: 1839

4 by 6 in framed
“Mrs. Verschoyle” in Heath’s Book of Beauty: 1839 (London, 1839) — Further identified as Catherine Curtis Verschoyle by Jessica Linker on March 29, 2013.

The editor of Heath’s was the Countess of Blessington (1789-1849), a famous beauty herself. During the sixteen years in the 1830s and 1840s that she edited Heath’s, 116 women’s portraits appeared in its pages. Having one’s portrait in Heath’s was an honor. Even Queen Victoria allowed her portrait to be published as the frontispiece … four times! It may be that the engraved plate for printing Mrs. Verschoyle’s portrait was produced for Heath’s, and then made a trip across the Atlantic to become “Mary Escars” in American gift books. The plate captioned “Mary Escars” appears in both The American Book of Beauty (Hartford, 1847) and Family Circle, and Parlor Annual, 1849 (New York, 1848), and perhaps other books as well.

All this may help to explain why the woman “Mary Escars” has been so hard to track down. And why, in an earlier edition of The American Book of Beauty (New York, 1845), the same portrait is listed in the table of illustrations as “Mrs. Verschoyle of Baltimore.” So far, we believe that Mrs. Verschoyle was indeed a wealthy woman in Great Britain – and not the mysterious “Mary Escars.” We also have located no entry for anyone with the surname Verschoyle in Baltimore city directories – so that appears to be a ruse as well.
According to all the plates, the portrait of Mrs. Verschoyle/Mary Escars was engraved by William Henry Mote after a painting by Alfred Edward Chalon (1780-1860). Alfred Chalon was indeed a London portrait painter, who became known for his portraits of Queen Victoria. And William Henry Mote was a prolific London steel engraver. But does the original painting survive, and who was the real sitter?

Consistent with age and use.

Fine Art, Works on Paper

18%

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New Canaan, CT 06840

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