STANLEY, Henry Morton. H. M. Stanley. London, Riddle & Couchman, Reproduction assisted by Messrs. Elliott & Fry's Photo, March 3. 1890.
Image size 40 x 37 cm (paper size 56 x 42 cm); one horizontal fold, a few very faint spots; otherwise clean and well-kept.
This fine and large portrait of the celebrated African explorer is based on a photo produced by Barnett & Fry's photographic establishment, the leading Victorian commercial portrait photographers, and finely printed in terracotta on a light yellow toned background. It is probably the largest not painted Stanley portrait, and we were unable to locate it in any museum or gallery, including the National Portrait Gallery. Not even Fry's photo seems to be known. The date was printed on a tiny label, in terracotta as well, and pasted into the lower right corner.
Provenance: After his marriage to Dorothy ('Dolly') Tennant Stanley decided that the couple must have a country home, and 'plunged into house hunting with something of his old vigor' (Bierman, Dark Safari, p. 350). After considering 57 properties Stanley decided to leave his Sackville Street flat for Furze Hill, a mock Tudor manor some 30 miles outside the capital. He had it modernised and extemsively renovated and electrified. The house was then filled with personal memorabilia, Africana, and portraits of fellow explorers of the 'dark' continent. His wife looked well after Stanley's collection of personal ephemera, as one can see in the condition of this probably unique lithographic portrait.
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