Identifier: bibliographicala02dibd (find matches)
Title: A bibliographical, antiquarian and picturesque tour in France and Germany
Year: 1821 (1820s)
Authors: Dibdin, Thomas Frognall, 1776-1847
Subjects: Libraries Libraries Bibliography Literary journeys Literary journeys
Publisher: London : Shakespeare Press
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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at curiosity. M. Du Chesne, theobliging and able director of this department of thecollection, attended me on my first visit. He saw melooking at this head with great eagerness. Enfin,voila quelque chose qui merite bien votre attention—observed he. It was in fact the portrait of theirgood but unfortunate King John—as my guide de-signated him. Has it never been engraved ? repliedI. Never, (rejoined he) as it ought to be. Thatreproach (resumed I) shall no longer exist. Aid mewith an artist who can faithfully copy it upon a re-duced scale, and you shall see. That can be easilydone—he replied. In short, my friend, I have nowthe satisfaction of sending you a most faithful repre-sentation of this very curious and ancient head*—undoubtedly of the time of the person whom it ismeant to represent. This performance comes from * See the Opposite Plate. The original is somewhat larger thanlife. The drawing is about half the size of the original; and the engrav-ing half that of the drawing.
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Froim Ae OrfiJimal raiiiiiiiii;^ oi llie Royal LilbTaryat THE ROYAL LIBRARY. 141 the pencil of M. Coeur^—a young artist of establishedmerit, and of very pleasing and frank manners. Ishall speak of him again. Mr. Lewis was too closelyoccupied with Anne of Brittany to enable him toundertake the task. All this is enigmatical — atpresent: but every thing in due order. Let me add,however, that the original is injured by pieces of thecolour having given way in the cheek and about theeye; but these accidental defects need not be trans-mitted to the drawing—especially as they are but ofcomparatively recent date. The original is executedin a sort of thick body colour, upon fine linen : theback-ground is gold — now almost entirely tarnish-ed—and there is a sort of frame, stamped or prickedout, upon the surface of the gold—as we see in the il-luminations of books of that period. It should alsoseem as if the first layer, upon which the gold isplaced, had been composed of the white of

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