A month or so ago I mentioned that I had found 3 precious new pictures from the local antique centre.
Well I finally have them now and they are hanging proudly up on our wall.
The day I walked in off the street to say hello to my friend who works in this centre something up on the wall caught my eye.
These 3 gorgeous prints were that something !
They are prints of an artist by the name of Marcus Stone and they are dated 1903.
After some research I have found that Marcus Stone was actually Charles Dickens' illustrator and he has numerous works hanging all over the world in countless galleries and private collections.
My 3 prints came as a group and they depict a story of 2 loves.
The first in the series is of a young maiden in a beautiful walled garden holding onto a basket of fruit. In the background her love is asking the maidens father for her hand in marriage.
He must have been successful because the name of the print is
"The Proposal Accepted"
The next print depicts the fair maiden all forlorn because her love had gone away to war and she was missing him terribly.
The title of this one is
"Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder"
Look closely at the pansies pinned to the maidens pretty dress.....so sweet !
These prints are in remarkable condition and the frames look almost brand new. These have been very loved over the years.
The frames have obviously been polished regularly.
The glass is the original plate glass too......amazing !
The final print in the collection depicts the fair maiden watching in the distance for her love to return.
Ships are pulling into the harbour and war is over.
She is waiting with a spray of roses held against her chest and her beautiful feather adorned hat lies on the wall next to her.
The title of this print is
"His Ship In Sight"
I am completely in love with these prints !
They are so beautiful to look at and I find the longer I look the more the picture tells a story. The artists eye to detail is incredible. It is no wonder Charles Dickens employed him as his illustrator.
For now these wonderful prints will give me great happiness and maybe someday will become heirlooms for my family to pass down. I wish that I knew who they had once belonged to. I wonder if they loved them as much as I do now.
