Mezzotint/Engraving

Maker & role
Dr John Thornton (active circa 1805), Publisher; H Kingsbury (active circa 1805), Engraver; R Dunkarton (b.1744, d.1811?), Attributed Artist/Maker; Martin Hoffman, Artist
 Production date
1805
 See full details

Object detail

Title
Linnaeus in his Lapland Dress
Production place
London/England
Collection
Elizabeth Bay House
Measurements
H: 54.3 x W: 39.6cm (H: 543 x W: 396mm)
Production notes
Kingsbury (engraver) after R. Dunkarton (delineator) after the oil portrait by Mart Hoffman (1737).

Mezzotint with aquatint, printed in colours and hand-coloured published by Dr Thornton, June 1, 1805.
Subject person
Linnaeus (Carl von Linne) (b.1707, d.1778)
Signature & marks
Printed text lower centre beneath image; 'London Published by Dr Thornton June 1. 1805 / LINNAEUS IN HIS LAPLAND DRESS. / From an original Picture in the Possession of Dr Thornton'.
Printed text lower right beneath image; 'H. Kingsbury Sculpt'.
Handwritten in pencil lower right; 'Printed ......'.
Credit line
Purchase, 2005
Elizabeth Bay House Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Caption
Linnaeus in his Lapland Dress, coloured mezzotint portrait
Description
Elizabeth Bay House is furnished to ‘emphasise the early periods of occupation by the Macleay family, particularly that of Alexander and Elizabeth Macleay from 1839-1845 and where possible will be based on inventories and other documentary evidence. If no information is available acquisitions will be made on the basis of documentation relating to other houses of similar period, style and quality’.

The acquisition of the mezzotint of Linnaeus is relevant to the Elizabeth Bay House collection as Alexander and William Sharp Macleay were both members of the Linnean Society. Alexander started collecting insects whilst still working as a civil servant in Britain. The strengths of his collection were English and European butterflies and moths. As a passionate collector, Macleay was elected to the Linnean Society in 1794, a leading forum for discussion on natural history, biology and the history of plant and animal taxonomy, and served as secretary from 1798 to 1825.
Accession number
EB2005/17

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