Holdings Information
Bibliographic Record Display
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Title:Backhouse and Mounsey collection, 1819-1856.
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Physical Description:2 linear feet (2 volumes + 1 box)
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Links:View a description and listing of collection contents in the finding aid
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Yale Holdings
Holdings Record Display
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Notes:Related material: Pease Family Collection of Sketchbooks and Exercise Books (MSS 6). Yale Center for British Art, Department of Rare Books and Manuscripts.
In English.
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Organization:The collection is arranged into three series: I. Albums; II. Etchings and drawing book by Edward Backhouse Mounsey; III. Copper plates by Thomas Mounsey.
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Access and use:The collection is open without restriction. The collection is the physical property of the Yale Center for British Art. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts.
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Biographical / Historical note:Edward Backhouse (1808-1879) was a Quaker minister and historical writer. A good amateur painter, he was also interested in natural history, and illustrated several works written by his second cousin James Backhouse, including: Narrative of a visit to the Australian Colonies (1843) and Narrative of a visit to the Mauritius and South Africa (1844). In the 1840s, he self-published collections of his own etchings of birds. Edward Backhouse Mounsey (1840-1911) of Darlington, was the nephew of Edward Backhouse and son of John and Lucy Backhouse Mounsey. In 1878, he married Rachel Ann Fryer. He was a member of the Society of Friends and played an important role in the family banking business. Thomas Mounsey (1793-1850) was the son of Ann Robson and John Mounsey. According to the Annals of Smith of Cantley, Balby, and Doncaster, County York (1878), Thomas devoted much of his leisure time to fine arts, primarily sketching, drawing, lithography, and etching on copper. He collaborated often with his relative Jonathan Richardson, who eventually became a skilled lithographic printer.
The Backhouse family of Darlington, County Durham, were prominent 18th- and 19th-century naturalists and horticulturists. The Backhouses were also Quakers and important bankers. They aligned themselves with the Pease family--also Quakers of Darlington--to become prominent 19th-century industrial financiers (becoming the principal underwriters of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in the 1820s).
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Summary:The collection comprises etchings, lithographs, and drawings by Edward Backhouse, Edward Backhouse Mounsey, and other members of the Backhouse and Mounsey families of Darlington (County Durham) in the early 19th century. The collection demonstrates that a number of family members practiced etching as a hobby. They were also early adopters of lithography, although the quality of the lithographic work is frequently less refined. Some of Edward Backhouse's etchings present in the current collection appear to have been self-published in the 1840s.
- Format:Archives or Manuscripts
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Cite as:Backhouse and Mounsey Collection, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund.
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Subjects:Backhouse, Edward, 1808-1879.
Backhouse, John Mounsey.
Backhouse, Lucy Backhouse, 1812-1872.
Backhouse, Rachel, 1826-1898.
Backhouse, Thomas J. (Thomas James), 1810-1857.
Barclay, Ann Ford, 1822-1913.
Barclay, Elizabeth Gurney.
Cave, Henry, 1779-1836.
Davison, W.
Mounsey, Edward Backhouse, 1840-1911.
Mounsey, J. C.
Mounsey, Thomas, 1793-1850.
Pease, Susan.
Pike, Lydia.
Richardson, Jonathan, 1802-ca. 1880.
Sparkes, J. M.
Backus family.
Mounsey family.
Animals in art.
Art, Amateur--Great Britain.
Birds in art.
Etching--Great Britain.
Quakers--Great Britain.
Ships in art.
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Genre/Form:Botanical illustrations.
Children's art.
Etchings.
Graphite drawings.
Ink drawings.
Juvenilia.
Landscape drawings.
Lithographs.
Printing plates.
Watercolors.
Sketchbooks.
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Also listed under:Mounsey, Edward Backhouse, 1840-1911.
Backhouse, Edward, 1808-1879.
Backhouse, Rachel, 1826-1898.
Mounsey, Thomas, 1793-1850.
Link to this page: https://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/9873251