by Richard Kay

Is there still a collecting field awaiting discovery? As the market grows (in terms of collectors if not always in terms of financial dividend), the buyer of silver focuses upon silver from Chester, or just Chester mustard pots, or only Chester mustard pots by Messrs Nathan and Hayes. The same is true in the picture market: it is unusual to find a collector who just buys prints - more probably he will fine tune his attentions to mezzotints by Stubbs or lithographs of orchids or linocuts of the 1930s.
I do not pretend that starting a collection of etchings of London views is being adventurous or is striking out into uncharted territory. However, it is certainly true that a greater number of interesting views of London exist than of any other British city and etchers have calculated the extra appeal of a view of St Paul's Cathedral over, say, Ely Cathedral (pace Ely). The selection I illustrate here shows what may be bought for relatively small sums and also highlights a few of the pitfalls but, with a bit of hunting around and a fair amount of discretion when making a purchase, it would not be difficult to find ten varied and interesting views of London for under £1,500.

Figure 12. William Strang (1859-1921), 'Selfridges' Toy Window, London', etching with drypoint, printed by David Strang, signed and inscribed by him, 13¾in. x 17½in. Sold for £420, April 2008.

Although I shall concentrate upon etchings of the late Victorian era and later, I show figure 1 as a good example of how the genre developed in the late 18th century. It is a large (20in. x 35½in.) aquatint with engraving by the celebrated master of the medium, Joseph Stadler, based upon N.R. Black's Royal Academy exhibit of 1801. Mr. Black is little known but his eye for a skilful and interesting composition is apparent here. This is a fine print but, sadly, has suffered down the centuries: it is worn and torn in the margins, there are paper losses at the right side and it has grazes and discoloration. Collectors are a little more tolerant of such flaws in a 200-year-old print than they would be with a modern print but it serves as a good example of how cautiously one must proceed. In good condition, this print might have made £1,000; in this careworn state, it achieved £180 in April this year. Stadler's coloured etchings for Boydell's History of the River Thames, 1794-96, head west along the Thames Valley but the views nearer central London are wonderful subjects at £150-£200 each. If you can track them down, aquatints by James Baily after Thomas Girtin, 1815 (£300-£500) and William James Bennett after George F. Robson, 1810 (£600-£800) are superb images. Look out also for aquatints after Paul Sandby, Thomas Malton and Thomas Rowlandson, all of which may be found for £80-£150 each (up to £400 for Sandby) but do not allow yourself to be tempted by the myriad small steel engravings of postcard size, often with later hand colouring, that fill racks in every print shop. Unless you find a subject that means a lot to you personally, these prints struggle to make even a fiver at auction.
Of course, architecture is the dominant theme in these prints and some collectors want a little more human interest in such subjects. Rowlandson and Pugin's 'Microcosm of London', published by Ackermann, provide some robust Georgian stereotypes that look a little too absurd to be wholly credible but, if we leap forward to the 1860s, we find the etched work of Whistler. His 'Thames Set', produced between 1859 and 1869, comprises sixteen fascinating views of London's dockland and captures the atmosphere and bustle of the busy waterfront. 'Billingsgate' (figure 2), the earliest in the series, is a glimpse of Victorian London with its stevedores, barges and honest hard labour. The clever balance of vertical masts that lead the eye to the tower beyond is typical of Whistler's inventive sense of composition. Impressions of this print appeared in The Portfolio in 1878, in Etchings and Etchers in 1880 and in a later esition still in 1890 before the plates were destroyed in 1897.