-FOLKESTONE FUDDLE-

THURLOW (Major (though at this time lieutenant) Edward Hovell, officer in the Royal Horse Artillery and skilled amateur artist, 1839-1925).

Original pen and ink sketches(withen grisaille wash) depicting a humorous encounter between two well-do sisters and a beggar they mistake for a highwayman, 1860s.

7 original pen and ink sketches, with en en grisaille wash, all laid down with contemporary MS captions and numbers to two album pages (rectos only). Size: (sketches) various, from approx. 17.6cm x 11cm to 8.5cm x 5cm / (sheets) - approx. 51.3cm x 32cm and 51.3cm x 15.2cm.

Very Good condition. Handling marks, closed tear and light spotting to a couple of the caption strips. Please ask if you require a more detailed condition report, or view gallery images.

A series of 7 original sketches humorously depicting an encounter between two terrified sisters and a beggar outside their home in Folkestone in the 1860s. Misunderstanding arises when the beggar comes out of the night shadows to surprise the women, who believe he is a highwayman. A gentleman in the well-appointed house can be seen reading a copy of Bells Life in London.

On another level, we see two neurotic and skittish Victorian middle-class women, utterly detached from the poverty around them on the streets of England.

Thurlow, of Buckham Hill House, Uckfield, was born in Beverley, Yorkshire, the son of Reverend Chancellor Thurlow. He was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and served in the Royal Horse Artillery, with tours in India and Ireland. He was an avid amateur artist, capturing the humorous side of his army and private life throughout his long career.

Provenance: From an album of original artwork by Thurlow, dated 1860s. Full details available on request..