Britton, Thomas. (1644 - 1714)
1703 Mezzotint of "The Famous Musical Small-Coal Man."
A very rare original mezzotint. Engraved by J. Simon after the original of John Wallaston and printed by Phil. Overton in 1703. The print is titled below the image, and includes the following laudatory verse by Matthew Prior:Tho' mean thy Rank, yet in thy humble Cell
Did gentle Peace, and Arts unpurchas'd dwell;
Well pleas'd Apollo thither led his Train,
And Musick warbled in her sweetest Strain.
Cyllenius so, as Fables tell, and Jove
Came willing Guests to poor Philemon's Grove.
Let useless Pomp behold, and blush to find
So low a Station, such a liberal Mind
A successful small-coal (charcoal) merchant in Clerkenwell, in 1678 Britton established the weekly concert series for which he is chiefly remembered. The concert series ran for an astonishing 36 years and was the longest-lasting of several set up in the late seventeenth century. Despite the rigid class distinctions of the period, his series was patronised by many members of the aristocracy, who flocked to hear some of the greatest performers of the day at his series. The concerts took place in the music room he set up in the loft over his coal house in Clerkenwell, where he kept many instruments, including a harpsichord and a tiny organ, on which Handel himself was said to have played. Britton also interested himself in chemistry and the occult sciences; he formed a large collection of books relating to these subjects. The present mezzotint is engraved after a portrait by Britton's friend, the artist John Wollaston, who apparently performed in some of Britton's concerts.
25 x 35 cm. Trimmed to just outside the plate, a few nicks to corners, overall very fine. NPG D817; Russell "English Mezzotint Portraits," p. 175. Not in the Harvard Theatre Collection Catalogue of Dramatic Portraits. A rare mezzotint. (3177)
Unsigned Photo/Portrait Classical Music