A Mystery Engraved (or Etched?) Copper Plate


 A Mystery Engraved (or Etched?) Copper Plate

This copper plate, intended for printing, was a find several years ago.  I don't know if it was hand engraved with a burin or chemically etched using a photoresist.
 

 

The style reminded me of the work of Mary Cassatt (1844-1926).  Cassatt was primarily a painter but did some fine art etchings.  Some of her painted images were the subjects of engravings by others.  It is more likely, despite my dreams that my little plate is a Cassatt copy, that it was made as an editorial or advertising illustration for a book or magazine.  Musing on, I can also see a similarity to the work of Howard Pyle student Jessie Willcox Smith. Smith was primarily an illustrator who specialized in children. Many other illustrators produced similar images.  I have looked for my image on-line but haven’t been successful.  It is most likely that my copper plate is the work of some anonymous commercial artist and I will never know.  I have not yet attempted to pull a print from my engraving or etching, but I have matted and framed my copper plate for display.

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