Amusing early edition aquatint drawn and etched by Thomas Rowlandson entitled " Dr. Syntax Robb’d of his Property". It was published in "The Tour of Dr. Syntax in Search of the Picturesque", (London 1812, pl.18), a story of a fictional rural schoolteacher and pastor who attempts to make his fortune by going travelling, and then writing and illustrating a book about his experiences of quaint and unusual places. The story was first told and published in verse and serial form in 1809, in Rudolph Ackermann's The Poetical magazine under the title "The Schoolmaster's Tour". The series was written by William Combe (1742-1823), a prolific English writer of miscellaneous prose and satirical verse, and illustrated with colour plates by Thomas Rowlandson. Combe wrote the text to elucidate the illustrations. The work was then collected in 1812 as a "by popular demand" book and was reprinted a number of times during the following decades. This collaboration of designer, author and publisher went on to produce a further two "Tours": The Second Tour of Dr Syntax in Search of Consolation (1820), and The Third Tour of Dr Syntax in Search of a Wife (1821).
This print was likely produced for the book’s second edition, and is dated 1 April, 1813.
Artist/Etcher: Thomas Rowlandson (1757-1827)
Medium: Hand-coloured etching with aquatint.
Condition: Good condition.
Dimensions: 14 x 21.5 cm. / 5 ½ x 8 ½ in. (sheet).
Frame: 24.5 x 32.5 cm. / 9 ¾ x 12 ¾ in. Gilt wood, contemporary. Mint green-coloured acid free matting and glass.
Origin: United Kingdom.
