black ink; beige tint; watercolour; paper

Lithograph printed in black with beige tint stone, handcoloured with watercolour on paper.

This is part of a set: Sketches in the Canadas, dedicated to the Earl of Durham, Plate 18.

Inscription: on the stone, recto, l.r.: INDIANS - BARTERING.; (Complete transcription)

LAC record

This is from a series of sketches by John Coke Smyth. He visited the Canadas with Lord Durham, as drawing teacher to Lord Durham's daughters. One of those daughters, Lady Mary Louisa, married Lord Elgin. Series consists of colour lithographs from a set entitled: "Sketches in the Canadas", including views of Quebec city and environs, Montreal, Niagara Falls, Toronto, several genre portraits of Huron Indians, hunting scenes. Works by John Richard Coke Smyth; published by Thos. McLean, London. This series represents group II-a in the artist inventory. As noted in the artist file (705-55): "these are separate, coloured, and mounted pictures numbered: Coke Smyth II-1a to II-23a. The set is incomplete: II-19a [View of Montreal] is missing and II-21a [Entrance to Toronto] is on loan to the High Commissioner in London, since May 1952." Provenance is unknown. Material was acquired sometime before the initial cataloguing date of 14/12/21, written on the verso of the prints. R13133-319 (II-11a, c. 2) and R13133-324 (II-9a, c. 2) are duplicate prints, of R13133-285 (II-11a, c. 1) and R13133-289 (II-9a, c. 1), respectively. According to the artist file, these duplicates were acquired sometime before the initial cataloguing date of June 1931 (written on the catalogue card), which is different from the rest of the series.

The publisher of this set was Thomas McLean,

sold by: Thomas Jefferys

Credit: Library and Archives Canada, acc. no. R13133-301

Created by Anne de Stecher during an RAship with Prof. Ruth Phillips.