Harris Schrank Fine Prints

Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), Frozen Custard, etching, 1939, signed in pencil lower right margin [also signed and dated in the plate lower right]. Reference: Sasowsky 183, second state (of 2). From the total printing of 18 in this state (there were 2 first state proofs). In excellent condition, with margins (some rippling in bottom margin, printed by the artist and trimmed by him slightly irregularly (as was his custom), printed on cream laid paper, 7 1/8 x 9 7/8, the sheet 8 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches.

A fine fresh and crisp impression.

A painting with the same design but quite different details is in the Benton Collection.

The composition of Frozen Custard is curious. With the exception of a woman buying a custard from the man in glasses toward the left, the crowd within and surrounding the custard stand all appear to be looking toward the viewer, perhaps the artist or a photographer, or some spectacle on the Coney Island boardwalk.  A child in front points to something, further suggesting that the crowd is looking at something other than the artist or a photographer. The composition is similar to Rembrandt’s Ecce Homo, except for the absence of a central figure, but this is made up for by the two woman in the booth holding frozen custards aloft, as if they were objects of worship.

Detail

Detail

The second state, before the polka dots in the dress

Jean-Emile Laboureur (1877-1943), La Porte de L’Estaminet, etching and roulette, 1925, the preliminary drawing, the etching in the second state (of 3), and the etching in the third state (of 3).  Sylvain Laboureur 294; total impressions printed 85. The third state impression is inscribed “imp” lower left and numbered (54/65), also signed lower left, and titled lower in the margin. The second state impression is signed and numbered 7/7. The drawing is initialed in pencil lower right.  Each impression and the drawing in good condition.  Plate size for the prints: 5 7/8 x 3 3/4 inches, each with wide margins. The drawing is 6 x 3 3/4 inches (the sheet 6 5/8 x 4 5/8 inches). The second and third state impressions are on a cream wove paper, the drawing is on a yellow tracing paper.

Provenance for the second state impression and drawing: Henri Petiet Collection (initials stamp verso; this stamp not in Lugt;  cf Lugt 2021a).

In La Porte de L’Estaminet Laboureur introduces a very fine roulette tint for shading around the head of the girl, around the windows, and in the tiles and spaces just behind the girl.

The drawing is a shade higher than the print; the artist draws the last letters of the word “Estaminet” nearly completely in the drawing, but cuts the tops of the letters in the print. He also shaves some of the right hand area shown in the drawing from the print.

La Porte de L’Estaminet is surely one of Laboureur’s most successful and charming small compositions.

The third state, with the polka dots in the dress.

The drawing (without the polka dots!)