Home Counties. Sketches in Herts, Essex, Kent, Sussex and Bedfordshire. Autumn 1921
England: H. Wilson, July - October 1921. 19x11.5cm: unnumbered [28 leaves, three are blank]. Handmade book with green cloth boards tied together with green silk ribbon. Black watercolor illustration and titling to front board. Contains 31 drawings in pen and ink with watercolor. The first 11 drawings are pasted on green cardstock, followed by 20 on thinner brown paper. Some leaves contain two drawings and a few signed “H. Wilson.” All drawings are pasted recto only and are predominantly circular, with some rectangular and diamond-shaped forms. Each captioned with a location and date in white ink. Boards rubbed with some exposure to corners and slight fraying. Content clean. Better than Very Good.
A charming little glimpse of interwar England and bicycle touring in the 1920s! H. Wilson pedaled his way through the countryside of Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Sussex, and Bedfordshire, stopping to capture quaint villages, cozy pubs, and seaside scenes in watercolor often depicting his bicycle within the scenes. His travels included places like The Woodman, a 17th-century pub in Stanford Rivers, Leeds Castle, St. Albans Abbey, dating back to 1077, and The Observatory (Stratton’s Folly) in Little Berkhamsted. The paintings capture architectural details and lush surrounding greenery, leading us to wonder if they could be the work of Henry Wilson (1864–1934), a London-based architect, sculptor, and metallurgist of the era.
Price: $900.00
Item #10704