John YOUNG after Richard Morton Paye

Young Sailors

The Young Volunteers

A very decorative pair of colour printed mezzotint engravings by J. Young after the paintings by R. M. Paye, published in London in 1799.

These charming evocations of Georgian childhood depict children playing with military and marine props and thereby drawing the attention to England’s dominance on the high seas and the battlefields of Europe at the time.  In Young Sailors a girl and her two brothers attempt to launch two toy ships that are named Nelson and Nile referring to Admiral Nelson’s decisive victory against the French at The Battle of the Nile in August 1798. The battle was the climax of a naval campaign that had ranged across the Mediterranean during the previous three months, as a large French convoy sailed from Toulon to Alexandria, carrying an expeditionary force under General Napoleon Bonaparte. The French were defeated by the British forces led by Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson. In The Little Volunteers three children play at dressing up as soldiers and even appear to have access to a rather large rifle!

These prints are typical of the highly executed and romantic work of John Young (1755 – 1825) who was a pupil of John Raphael Smith and spent his life working in London.  His work was highly regarded and his talents were officially acknowledged when he was appointed Mezzotint Engraver to The Prince of Wales in 1789.

Each 17 x 22½"

Pair £2,300
Unframed