Rowlandson, Thomas & Pugin, Augustus Charles “Bow Street Office.” From "The Microcosm of London"

Thomas Rowlandson (1757-1827) & Augustus Charles Pugin (1762-1832). “Bow Street Office.”  [Magistrate's Office].  From The Microcosm of London.  London: R. Ackermann, 1808-1810.  Approx. 8 x 10 (image).  Aquatint.  Original hand color.  Minor stains in margin.  Very good condition.  In 1808, R. Ackermann began issuing his monumental, The Microcosm of London.  This work, which ran until 1810, contains some of the greatest examples of English color prints of the nineteenth century.  The quality of the prints is top-notch, and their impact on English graphic illustration was considerable.  The careful rendering, superb aquatinting and lovely hand coloring combine to make these prints most desirable.  The prints provide an unexcelled picture of London at the time, and thus their historic import is equal to their aesthetic quality.  Rowlandson, Pugin and Ackermann are three of the most renowned names in the history of British printmaking, and the prints from this series are no small pa