2009 Miscellaneous                Back to Index

 I show below a newly found artist drawn card for Whitby. It is definitely printed by Dennis , but the artist's style is different to ETWDs drawing style for the Whitby card,  ( illustrated elsewhere on this web). The size of the card is "old official" size, the same size as used on Dennis cards in 1894/95. Alan Kelly collection

 I show also a magnified section of the lower left, with very uncertain  initials

 

 

 

 

 

 Dennis published 12 cards of the IOM, in the larger , (not court) , size. Envelope shown above.(Alan Kelly collection). Details are as follows. v=vertical.

(Somebody on the Internet mistakenly ascribes the Port Erin and also Loch Promenade cards to a firm of ETW Dennis of ???Scunthorpe???. Dennis was always run from Scarborough and never Scunthorpe)

Castletown (v)
Douglas, From Douglas Head (v)
Groudle Glen
Kirk Braddan (v)
Laxey Glen Gardens (v)
Loch Promenade (v)
Peel Castle And Harbour (v)
Peel, From The Castle (v)
Port Erin (v)
Port St. Mary (v)
Ramsey, From Mooragh Park (v)
Ramsey, From South (v)

 

 

Random notes (In no order and of varying interest)

 

 A descendent of a printer who worked for Dennis says that his forbear worked for Dennis , printing in Leeds and not Scarborough , about 1920

 

ETW Dennis  The Angler Magazine 1894 to 1900

 

   Dennis printed and published.The Angler magazine  from 1894 to 1900. Very elaborately coloured  prints of fish were presented with this magazine These represented very expensive high class wood block colour printing . I quote (in red) below , verbatim, the write up by the firm who are now selling these Angler engravings , this is followed by my comments

Original chromoxylographs / colour wood engravings  from William Houghton's British Fresh Water Fish, published in 1879.  The plates were drawn by A. F. Lydon and printed by Benjamin Fawcett published by William MacKenzie, London: 1879.  These were then reprinted the years following  by E.T.W Dennis of Scarborough,  as a Special Presentation Print from 'The Angler' until about 1886. The company later  'E.T.W.Dennis of Scunthorpe' issued postcards from 1901 . As  ETW Dennis of Scarboroughthey  published the first  British  picture post card in 1894. The firm, founded in 1870,  had a long and distinguished career as a printer and publisher, until June 2000
 . . . . . . . . . ..The pictures differ from the Houghton prints in the 'presented with the Angler ' in the bottom left corner but are in every other aspect identical. All double mounted and matted perfect condtion £25 inc

Comments

  1. The reference, above, to ETW Dennis starting in postcards  Scunthorpe in 1901 is wrong , Dennis never operated from Scunthorpe but always Scarborough and the first picture card from there was in 1894
  2. The above Dennis publication dates  are incorrect. The British Library Newspaper catalogue shows that "The Angler" was only published by Dennis from 1894 to 1900.
  3. Mclean's book on Benjamin Fawcett , p41, says that  after Fawcett's death  in 1893 , E.T.W.Dennis bought the Fawcett blocks of Houghton's book "British Freshwater Fishes" (1879 and reissued 1884) at the auction of Fawcett's effects.
  4.  Dennis makes a good job of the reprints using the original Fawcett colour blocks. It looks like Dennis used a lot of the original Fawcett inks and papers. Where Dennis has to use his own inks the result are not quite so good . 
  5. Dennis's own colour printing capabilities were only 3 colours at the most , using inexpensive inks.