A receipt for a payment to Sophie de Tott.
An interesting little document has turned up for sale at a London dealer's.
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It is a receipt by an engraver for a payment of £100 for the work of preparing an engraving from Sophie de Tott's painting of the Prince de Condé. The receipt is dated 16th June 1802, soon after the portrait was painted.
The purpose was to make reproductions of the painting and sell them widely. The interesting thing is that it seems that De Tott herself had to pay the engraver in advance for doing this. presumably she had a contract that gave her a percentage of the profits, but nevertheless she was having to make a considerable investment in the expectation of doing that.
this little slip of paper is now on sale for £280 which in relative terms is worth far less than £100 was in 1802.
Sophie-Ernestine de Tott, French émigrée artist.] Signed Autograph order for David Morier to pay Gregorio Francisco de Queiroz for Francisco Bartolozzi’s engraving of her painting of the Prince de Condé. With de Queiroz’s signed receipt.
A nice set of documents relating to the London émigré art scene. A copy of the engraved portrait to which these two items refer, titled ‘Louis Joseph de Bourbon, prince de Condé, prince du sang’, is BM P&D 1850,0211.17, and carries the information M.de de Tott pinx., F. Bartolozzi RA sculp., and her details, as publisher: London Publish'd by M.de de Tott Octo. 1 1802. De Tott’s original painting is in the Musée Condé in Paris. See Bartolozzi’s entry in the Oxford DNB and the second (1885) edition of Tuer’s monograph on him. The two items are attached with a wafer at top inner corner. ONE (signed order by de Tott): On one side of 16.5 x 10.5 slip of laid paper. On reverse, in her hand: ‘le Monsieur David Morier / No. 10. Tokenhouse yard / Lothbury -’. In good condition, lightly aged, apart from a clean closed tear made by scissors on opening the wafer, unobtrusively cutting between the ‘de’ and ‘Tott’ of her signature. Reads: ‘Je prie Monsieur David Morier de vouloir bien remêttre Cent Livres Sterling pour mon Compte, a Mr. G. F. de Queiros, [sic] Eleve de Mr. F. Bartolozzi, qui doit les recevoir au nom de Mr. F. Bartolozzi. pour La moitié du payement de La Gravure qu’il fait, pour moi, du portrait de Mr. Le Pce. de Condé. / Sophie Ernestine Ctesse de Tott’. TWO (receipt signed by de Queiroz): On one side of 20 x 7.5 slip of laid paper, with blind-stamped tax stamp. Only the signature is in de Queiroz’ hand. Reads: ‘Recd. 16 June 1802 One hundred Pounds on acct. of Madame de Tott for the use of Mr. Fras. Bartolozzi (as Pr annexed Order) / Gregorio Franco. de Queiroz / £100 -’. See Image.
https://www.richardfordmanuscripts.co.uk/catalogue/25821
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