Number 5 of a limited edition of 50 done in 2017.
While most were sold in 2017 when we offered them, I held on to three, including the one I'm offering tonight, which has been hanging on my wall since then. (I won’t offer another for at least another year, or probably longer.)
It's in a solid wood frame I made with wood from my house (c1780) that had been left after a new floor was put in many years ago. I cut, routed, shaped, and sanded it to come up with a unique profile, one that sets off the print, yet doesn't distract from it. As you can see from the picture, there is a slight bevel on the back that causes the frame and image to project from the wall.
I then coated it with several coats of milk paint, starting with a dark red, buffing it down, and repeating, and eventually painting over that with black milk paint and buffing that down. As a result, you see the wonderful red undercoat coming through slightly.
It is framed with a museum-grade acrylic that is non-glare and offers UV protection. (Use a cleaner designed for acrylic, such as this one; do not use a standard glass cleaner.)
It is one-of-a-kind frame befitting this very limited, historic print.
— Lee Wright | Founder | The History List | History Camp
About the print
Printed exclusively for The History List by the Red Door Press using hand-set type on an antique press. On Cougar Natural 110 pound cover paper.
Frame: Made by hand from wood from a c1780 house. Approximately 22" x 14"
The image: An electrotype of a wood engraving by J. W. Orr. The artist's mark on the eagle says J W ORR NY. More on Orr below.
The plate is from sometime after the 1850s and was designed so that each printer could add the text they wished.
Our addition, "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of history," expresses what so many of us who love history feel.
This print will make a striking addition to a home, school, or office.
The engraver: John William Orr (1815-1887), known professionally as J. W. Orr, was a prominent American wood engraver who drew many of his own illustrations and owned his own engraving and printing business.
He was born in Ireland on March 31, 1815, and was brought to Buffalo, New York in his infancy. In 1836, he completed his instruction in drawing and engraving in New York City under the distinguished William Redfield. He returned to Buffalo, where he practiced wood-engraving and published several illustrated books, including Orr's Pictorial Guide to Niagara Falls (1842), for which he designed and engraved the illustrations. He went to Albany, New York in 1842 as artist and engraver for The Country Gentleman and while there was awarded a gold medal for the best engravings of animals. In 1844 he settled in New York City, where his first employment was on Harper Brothers' Illustrated Shakespeare. It was not long before he had his own business, a wood-engraving and printing establishment at 75 and 77 Nassau Street, New York. An advertisement of around 1857 states that he specialized in "illustrated catalogues and ornamental show cards", and manufactured "illuminated envelopes". He died in 1887.
His son, Louis Herbert Orr, was a successful typographer.
Source: Wikipedia
Shipping: $45. Please allow one week for shipping.