Whistler, James A. M. (American, 1834-1903) THE BROAD BRIDGE. Chicago 11. Lithotint, 1878. 7 1/4 x 11 inches (image),A view of Old Battresea Bridge on the Thames. The published state, printed in black on plate paper (heavy, smoth wove paper).Signed with a printed butterfly in the plate, lower right. 9 1/4 x15 inches (Sheet-trimmed to remove the legend). In very good condition. This was one of four lithotints Whistler did for publication in a magazine; only two issues were published before the magazine lost its backers and went out of business. This is one of the two which were published. It is unknown how many were printed. Way, who printed 12 proofs before the edition, in brown on finer paper, asserted that there were hudreds printed for publication by a machine process, but the relative scarcity of this print argues that the run was much smaller, or that many of the unsold copies of the issue were destroyed. Because lithotint washes are unstable and difficult to control, the quality degraded during the run so that some details were diminished or lost. This example shows such a diminution of detail when compared with one of the early proofs printed in Way's shop. It has, nevertheless, the delicate and atmospheric quality one expects in Whistler's work.
