BROOKE, After Edward Adveno (1821-1910)

Birds Eye View of (Mon Plaisir) in the Garden at Elvaston Castle. The Seat of the Right Hnble. the Earl of Harrington

London: Published by T. McLean, 1857. Hand-coloured lithograph. Image size (including text): 12 1/4 x 16 5/8 inches. Sheet size: 13 1/2 x 19 1/4 inches. French mat and 19th century mahogany frame.

A stunning view of the gardens at Elvaston Castle, Derbyshire, from the "The Gardens of England."

Published in 1857, The Gardens of England is a series of 24 plates with accompanying text depicting the diverse luxuriant gardens of various distinguished English mansions. The mid-nineteenth century was a period during which the traditional aesthetics of garden design underwent a significant change in England, as innovative ideas and concepts were being continually introduced and explored. Brooke's publication embodies the eclectic nature of Victorian garden design and constitutes an important visual survey of the varied styles that were popular among the wealthy and fashionable. The historic gardens of the Victorian estate of Elvaston were designed for the Earl of Harrington by the eminent Scottish gardener William Barron between 1830 and 1851. The grounds surrounding the castle were comprised of several individual gardens of various styles including an Alhambra garden with a Moorish pavilion, a French garden, an Italian garden, and the most famous and extravagant garden, the seventeenth-century style Mon Plaisir, which was decorated with numerous statues, topiary, and a large serpentine hedge.

Cf. Abbey, Scenery of Great Britain and Ireland, 392; cf. Benezit, Dictionnaire Des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, Vol. 2, p. 842.

Item #13547

Price: $3,500.00