Admission Ticket for Fonthill Abbey

1823

Not on view

This print contains a small almond-shaped vignette with a view of the tower of Fonthill Abbey, a Gothic-Revival house built for William Beckford in Wiltshire. The print was made to function as an admission ticket for the abbey for visitors who came to see its contents before it was auctioned off in 1823. Presumably at least several hundred were printed, but very few survive due to their ephemeral nature. A second version of this ticket also exists, suggesting that visitor numbers succeeded expectations.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Admission Ticket for Fonthill Abbey
Artist: Thomas Stedman Whitwell (British, Coventry 1784–1840 London (?))
Engraver: Thomas Higham (British, baptised Bramfield, Suffolk 1795–1844 London)
Date: 1823
Medium: Engraving
Dimensions: 5 × 3 1/4 in. (12.7 × 8.3 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Bequest of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2019
Object Number: 2019.282.16
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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