Game of Chess
George Cruikshank Engraving
Game of Chess
George Cruikshank (1792-1878) (artist and engraver)
Game of Chess
Thomas McLean, London: August 1, 1835
Hand-colored engraving
9.5 x 14 inches, platemark
11.5 x 16 inches, overall
Sold, please inquire as to the availability of similar items.

A comic engraving of two aristocratic gentlemen in knee breeches and powdered wigs playing chess by candlelight, while two others look on with great interest.  A fire roars in the fireplace and a dog sleeps on the rug.  

Earlier versions of this print were issued by H. Humphrey in London in 1814 and 1819. This is a reissue from an 1835 series of plates after George Cruikshank and his brother Robert, published by Thomas McLean as Cruikshankiana.

George Cruikshank, one of England's foremost early 19th century illustrators, was from a family of caricaturists, illustrators and engravers that included his father, Issac, and his brother Robert.  At an early age he showed talent for drawing and engraving, influenced by the satirical art of William Hogarth.  Cruikshank produced over 15,000 drawings during his long life.  In the early 1820s he concentrated on social and political caricatures.  He also did numerous book illustrations including works by Charles Dickens such as Oliver Twist.  Among his other illustrated books were editions of Grimm's Fairy Tales (1827), Pilgrim's Progress, Paradise Lost, and Life in London (1821).

Full publication information: Thomas McLean, 26 Haymarket, London.

References:

"Cruikshank, George, 1792-1878. Caricatures and other separate prints by George Cruikshank, engraved between the years 1803-1871: the unique collection formed by Captain Douglas: Index. " Houghton Library, HarvardUniversity.  2005.  http://oasis.harvard.edu:10080/oasis/deliver/~hou01632 (17 August 2006).

"George Cruikshank." Bob Speel's British Artists.  http://www.speel.demon.co.uk/artists2/cruik.htm.

George's Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires. 14441.

Reid, George William.  A descriptive catalogue of the works of George Cruikshank.  London, 1871. 297.