Five prints walked into a room in 1875 and never left. Until now.
This is a complete set of five Victorian sentimental prints in their original bamboo Japonisme frames — the kind of ensemble that was commissioned, framed, and hung together in a Victorian parlour and has somehow survived intact for 150 years. Finding one such frame is lucky. Finding five matching frames with their original prints is the kind of thing that makes serious collectors put down their tea.
The Prints
Five large-format Victorian photogravure or mezzotint prints, each titled and catalogued by the original publisher:
- No. 4207 — The Garden of Lilies
- No. 2942 — A Faithful Friend
- No. 2947 — Motherless
- No. 2948 — Poor Birdie
- No. 4208 — The Rose Garden
The titles are quintessentially Victorian — sentimental, narrative, and designed to make you feel things in a drawing room. The prints are in very good condition with some dust and cobweb traces between glass and frame (consistent with 150 years of existence and entirely cleanable). One print has a very small corner foxing spot, barely visible. Original backing paper and tape intact on all five.
The Frames
The frames are the real story. Each is constructed from tortoiseshell-scorched bamboo in the Japonisme style — the aesthetic movement that swept Victorian Britain and Europe from the 1870s onward, inspired by Japanese art and design. The frames feature a spectacular sunburst/wagon-wheel crest at the top: a central bamboo hub from which twelve bamboo spokes radiate outward in a perfect fan, all joined with iron screws and wire bindings. The side rails are multi-layered bamboo bundles, also iron-screwed. The construction is complex, architectural, and entirely hand-assembled.
The frames have been recently re-waxed and are in excellent structural condition. One frame has minor treated woodworm holes — treated and stable, noted for full transparency.
- Set of 5 Victorian sentimental prints, catalogue nos. 2942, 2947, 2948, 4207, 4208, c.1870–1890
- Original bamboo Japonisme frames with sunburst crest, iron screws and wire bindings
- Tortoiseshell-scorched bamboo — complex hand-assembled construction
- Original backing paper, tape and cardboard intact on all five
- Very good condition — dust/cobwebs between glass and frame (cleanable); one print with minor corner foxing spot
- One frame with minor treated woodworm holes — stable and treated
- Recently re-waxed frames
- 92 × 53 × 3 cm per frame, approx. 2,150 g per frame (10,750 g total)
- England, c.1870–1890
- Sold as a complete set of 5 only
WARNING: These frames will immediately become the most interesting thing in any room you put them in. The Victorian prints will make your guests feel feelings they didn't know they had about a garden of lilies and a poor birdie. Maison de L'oro considers this a public service.
