Lot 374: A Set of Four Hand-Coloured Etchings by Samuel Howitt

A set of four late 18th Century hand-coloured etchings depicting British field sports, titled PHEASANT SHOOTING, PARTRIDGE SHOOTING, DUCK SHOOTING, and SNIPE SHOOTING. Each work is rendered with fine acid-bitten line work and subsequent watercolour tinting. The prints are housed in matching wooden frames featuring gilt-painted inner fillets. Each print bears the artist’s name HOWITT in the lower-left margin. Centrally positioned in the lower margin are the respective titles. The lower-right margins carry publication lines: PHEASANT SHOOTING is inscribed PUBLISHED MAY 12TH 1799; PARTRIDGE SHOOTING is inscribed PUBLISHED NOV 15TH 1799; both DUCK SHOOTING and SNIPE SHOOTING are inscribed PUBLISHED AUG 1ST 1799. The verso of each frame is sealed with aged brown paper and fitted with wire hangers. No other maker’s marks or labels are visible on the items.