John Sartain
John Sartain belongs to the nineteenth-century tradition of reproductive engraving, translating painted and drawn subjects into finely worked lines on copper or steel. His plates circulated widely in the American illustrated press and gift annuals of the period, carrying genre scenes and narrative imagery to a broad readership. The archive holds a single sheet connected to his hand, The County Election, dated 1847, executed in engraving and preserved as an India proof before final letters. Its presence here documents the proof stage of Sartain's practice, when the image stood complete but the captioning and publication lettering had not yet been added.
1 works in the collection · All public domain (CC0)
