You stated there were five Canadian prints in this lot at Gorringe’s. There were actually seven Canadian prints, plus two of Grenada, for a total of nine aquatint engravings. The seven Canadian views comprised:
1. Horse Shoe Fall of the Falls of Niagara from the Upper Bank of the British Shore
2. General View of the Falls of Niagara from the British Shore
3. A View of Brockville, Upper Canada, from Umbrella Island
4. Montreal from St Helen’s Island
5. York from Gibralter [sic] Point
6. Kingston from Fort Henery [sic]
7. Quebec, from Point Levi
As your article points out, for many years it had been assumed that these seven images comprised the complete set of these extremely rare Canadian views. Then another view was discovered. It is Falls of Montmorenci from the east bank, and as you noted, it was included in a lot sold in the landmark Winkworth sale at Christie’s King Street in 2015.
This lot was resold in the Norman Bobins sale at Christie’s New York this past June. Although part of the set, this view is compositionally quite different from the other seven. It is less panoramic in scope, with the foreground figures more prominent and the horizon line set higher.
Set dedication
Intriguingly, the set that I purchased at Gorringe’s was consigned by a family member whose antecedents apparently included Sir Peregrine Maitland, who at the time was Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada and to whom the set was dedicated.
Fred O’Riordan
Ottawa, Ontario
