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Leighton House Museum Collection

The collection consists of around 140 18th- and 19th-century prints, from reproductions of art works to book frontispieces and invitations for masquerades.

The collection is invaluable for anyone interested in the process of printmaking. There are examples of different inks, techniques, and processes, often illustrated with the inclusion of several versions of the same print. 

How to access the collection
The collection is held within the Rare Books collection and may be consulted at the Borthwick Institute for Archives. The entire collection is available to search in YorSearch.

About the collection

Fashionable printers of the period are represented, like Francesco Bartolozzi, who is credited with making the crayon style of engraving popular. Bartolozzi made his name reproducing works by leading artists such as Sir Joshua Reynolds.

The collector

The collection is from the Leighton House Museum, an art museum in the Holland Park area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London.

The house was the former home and studio of the leading Victorian artist, Scarborough-born Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-1896).

Acquisition

In 2019 the works were transferred to the Library's collections from the Leighton House archive.

Related collections

The Heath Collection is illustrative of British engraving from the 17th- to the 19th-centuries.

The George Smith Collection focuses on 18th- and 19th-century painting and engraving, and includes books, prints, banknotes, and stamps.

Further information