Joseph Edmondson Folio Heraldry Engraving John Hobart Plate 256 Coat of Arms

Antiques : Prints

 

This 18th century heraldry copperplate engraving features the coat of arms for the Right Honourable John Hobart, Earl of Buckinhamshire, Baron Hobart and Baronet. On beautiful hand laid paper with a distinct watermark, the engraving is from Joseph Edmondson’s Baronagium Genealogium, or the Pedigrees of the English Peers deduced from earliest times…, published London, 1764-84 in five magnificent folio volumes. A supplementary sixth volume was issued later.

This work is one of the most beautifully illustrated and comprehensive records left by a herald of the 18th century. Joseph Edmondson apprenticed first as a barber but soon abandoned this trade to become a coach painter. His fine artistic talent for emblazoning coats of armor on carriages soon developed for him a busy and exclusive clientele among the English nobility. This work led him to a serious study of heraldry and genealogy. In 1764, the College of Arms named him Mowbray herald extraordinary, an enviable honor.

His “Baronagium” was a task of infinite labor and more than 300 copperplate engravings were printed on the finest quality hand-made paper. Some of Europe’s finest artists were hired to engrave these coats of arms of notable personages of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

This Hobart coat of arms features on the crest a black and red bull with coins on the body and a gold ring in his nose. The supporters of the arms are a stag and a hound. The motto Auctor Pretiosa Facit loosely translated means “The Giver makes the Valuable.” The beautiful hand coloring has been added by a professional colorist and are true to the specifications for the John Hobart coat of arms.

Condition is very good and there is a strong plate mark. The paper is a soft cream color reflecting the age of this engraving. Overall size is approximately 11” x 18” and evidence of the original binding in the book is on the left side. Of special significance is the inclusion of the original sheet which details the genealogical table of the noble Hobart family in the 1700’s. This magnificent engraving is not only very decorative, it is a tribute to the Hobart family ancestry.

Item ID: 000860