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Lot Essay
The inscription on the back of the picture of the postman reads:
At Frant there dwell a man of fame,
By trade a tailor, Smart by name;
Whose studies gave me great delight,
For life resembled caught my sight.
His walking-stick and letter-case;
With Ass in hand, (to where he dwells.)
As he returns to Tunbridge Wells.
A milestone was also in sight,
Which gave the work a natural light:
He bore a letter in his hand,
Perhaps some favorable demand;
The same address'd to Mr Smart,
Professor of peculiar art,
Whose works appear by no means faint-
Sure Ruben's there with brush and paint;
Or Aristotle is come back,
Who nature sought without respect.
There Dogs and Cats like life are seen,
The feather'd tribe of red and green,
Of Cloth and Velvet they're prepar'd,
Appear as tho' by nature rear'd.
His Camera Obscura too,
And Microscope to take the view
Of scenes, which gratify the mind;
And you may purchase if inclin'd.
The artist George Smart (d.1846) was by trade a tailor in the village of Frant, near Tunbridge Wells in Kent. He made pictures and figures out of scraps of left-over cloth. He became very popular and supplied pictures to Queen Victoria'’s uncle, the Duke of Sussex. His pictures often included portraits of local figures, such as this postman, made from fabric scraps and pasted onto an engraving which Smart has hand-coloured with watercolour. Another version of this postman is dated 1833 and is in the collection at Compton Verney, Warwickshire.
At Frant there dwell a man of fame,
By trade a tailor, Smart by name;
Whose studies gave me great delight,
For life resembled caught my sight.
His walking-stick and letter-case;
With Ass in hand, (to where he dwells.)
As he returns to Tunbridge Wells.
A milestone was also in sight,
Which gave the work a natural light:
He bore a letter in his hand,
Perhaps some favorable demand;
The same address'd to Mr Smart,
Professor of peculiar art,
Whose works appear by no means faint-
Sure Ruben's there with brush and paint;
Or Aristotle is come back,
Who nature sought without respect.
There Dogs and Cats like life are seen,
The feather'd tribe of red and green,
Of Cloth and Velvet they're prepar'd,
Appear as tho' by nature rear'd.
His Camera Obscura too,
And Microscope to take the view
Of scenes, which gratify the mind;
And you may purchase if inclin'd.
The artist George Smart (d.1846) was by trade a tailor in the village of Frant, near Tunbridge Wells in Kent. He made pictures and figures out of scraps of left-over cloth. He became very popular and supplied pictures to Queen Victoria'’s uncle, the Duke of Sussex. His pictures often included portraits of local figures, such as this postman, made from fabric scraps and pasted onto an engraving which Smart has hand-coloured with watercolour. Another version of this postman is dated 1833 and is in the collection at Compton Verney, Warwickshire.