Britain Portrayed: A Regency Album, 1780-1830

By the turn of the nineteenth century the towns, villages and countryside of Britain had attained a picturesque and visually satisfying balance between the natural and the man-made, and judging by contemporary illustration, a beauty and comeliness unsurpassed before or since. In watercolour drawing British artists caught the changing light and weather to perfection. And in aquatint engraving combined with etching, their subtle tones and spontaneous effects could be reproduced in prints virtually indistinguishable from the original. Aquatinting was supplemented by hand-colouring, often done by teams of children. Prints were issued separately or in splendid colour-plate books, many of which have since been broken up to obtain prints for framing. These, after exposure to light, eventually fade; but the aquatints surviving intact in the British Library's volumes and the albums of the King's Topographical Collection remain as fresh and vivid as ever. In this book, nearly fifty have been selected for reproduction and comment, providing today's armchair tourist with an album that faithfully portrays the elegance and robust variety of Regency Britain.