the book collector
The delays in the production of the plates for the Groups must have been another source of frustration for Lewis. He had planned to issue the etchings in three parts, each containing twenty plates with some larger ones counted as two. An undated prospectus, but prob- ably from 1821, stated that the first part was to appear on the first of May and the other two parts at intervals of three months. The plates for the first part all are dated ‘May 1st, 1821’, but there were delays in producing the remainder of the plates. Those intended for the second part have dates of May, September, October and December 1821, while the plates for the final part are dated November 1822. 14 Lewis finally decided to issue his statement in advance of the third part and explained the circumstances in a preliminary paragraph to the remarks: The following observations were written for the purpose of being add- ed to the Introductory Remarks, intended to accompany the Third Part of the Groups. Several of those, whose opinions I most value, have urged the immediate printing of them for distribution; as, it may yet be two or three months before I shall be able to complete the Third and concluding Number of this Work. 15 Lewis presented his concerns: reports had reached him from various quarters that he had charged Dibdin exorbitant prices for his draw- ings and he felt compelled to set forth the nature of the transactions between the two, as accurately as he was able, in justice to both parties. First, there was the matter of payment for his time during the tour itself. Dibdin, he stated, had agreed to pay him a guinea a day but, on their return, had o V ered him only £ 100, less than half the amount owing. Lewis reluctantly accepted the lesser sum, taking into consideration Dibdin’s previous commissions and the additional expenses of the tour, as it had taken much longer than 14 . Lewis’s Groups (1823) is described in Jackson 56 and Windle & Pippin A44. In the latter, the note states: ‘The plates are all on india paper pasted-in, and all bear the full imprint and date of publication’. The dates given here are based on the large-paper copy in the Landon/Korey personal collection. The accompanying text includes a list of the plates, instructions for placing them in the Tour , and a fifteen-page description of the plates headed ‘Advertisement’. The text is printed on Whatman paper with wa- termarks of 1821 and 1822. There is an engraved dedication leaf. 15 . George Lewis, ‘The following observations’, p. [1].
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