An interesting early colour print associated with George Baxter (1804–1867), one of the great pioneers of commercial colour printing in Britain, commemorating the engagement of Queen Victoria (1819–1901) and Prince Albert (1819–1861) in 1839. The composition depicts the young royal couple standing on opposite sides of an elaborate palace interior. At left is Queen Victoria, wearing royal and ceremonial dress; at right stands Prince Albert in princely ceremonial attire. Palace architecture and a distant view complete the setting. Although the arrangement creates an unusual “split-screen” effect, the two figures are not separate pictures subsequently joined together, but form a single unified composition. The subject commemorates one of the defining moments in Victoria's personal life. Following their renewed acquaintance in 1839, Victoria fell deeply in love with Albert, and on 15 October 1839 it was the Queen herself who proposed marriage to him, as royal protocol made it inappropriate for him to formally propose to the reigning sovereign. They married on 10 February 1840. Beneath the image is an exceptionally prominent embossed George Baxter seal, surmounted by a crown and reading: “11 & 12 NORTHAMPTON SQUARE PRINTED IN OIL COLOURS BY BAXTER INVENTOR & PATENTEE” The large embossed mark is an important identifying and collectible feature of the piece. Baxter patented his innovative colour-printing process in 1835, combining a key impression with successive applications of colour from multiple plates or blocks. His technique enabled the production of richly coloured and highly detailed images at a time when high-quality commercial colour reproduction remained technically demanding and expensive. According to the earlier description accompanying the piece, the composition is associated with Le Blond & Co., with a warning that examples made from separately cut and subsequently reassembled portions should not be confused with the original unified format. In the present example, both figures and the complete scene appear together within the same image, as intended. An attractive piece of early Victorian royal memorabilia combining the young Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, their engagement of 1839, early Victorian colour printing and the impressive embossed mark of George Baxter – Inventor & Patentee.
Auction 01: Auction 01 – Historical Letters, Documents & Autographs — Melis Antiques & Art