The British Dance of Death by Benedictus Antonio van Assen - [1823]: Exemplified by a Series of Engravings from Drawings by Van Assen

A very good copy of a hard to find edition of the Dance of Death.

Second edition of 1823 published by Orlando Hodgson, after the first just one year before from George Smeeton.

Complete with 17 aquatint plates by Dutch-born, London-based artist Benedictus Antonio van Assen engraved by Joshua Gleadah and one aquatint frontispiece by the satirical artist Isaac Robert Cruikshank.

Inspired by the re-appearance of the Dance of Death in the 1780s, many English artists including John Bewick, Thomas Rowlandson and Richard Dagley would all bring out their versions in the Regency era. The publisher Smeeton jumped on the bandwagon by issuing this suite of illustrations by the late artist van Assen and adding a few pages of moralistic essays by an unknown hack writer.

The subjects of this Regency edition are not the usual popes and emperors, abbots and nuns. The gallery of victims here is more genteel or working class: infant, pious girl, male student, seamstress, musical student at the harpsichord, dancer, female student with book, lovers on a couch, housewife at the hearth, officer in Wellington's army, boxers, glutton, drunkard, London watchman, fish-woman from Billingsgate market, physician, miser, and old man.

Benedictus Antonio van Assen (c. 1767-1817), was a painter, miniaturist, engraver, etcher and copyist. The Dutch-born artist worked in England during the Georgian era based at 13 Cambridge St., Golden Square. He exhibited 28 paintings and portraits at the Royal Academy between 1788 and 1804. He later seems to have specialized in engraving portraits and book illustrations. His other books include Emblematic Devices in 48 Plates, 1810. Reputedly died in London in 1817.

In a full polished tan leather binding by Riviere, spine with five raised bands and gilt tooling, title label missing and gilt chipped, panelled back and inner dentelle borders, marble endpapers, bookplate of John Mason Warriner, boards good with a few scratches, sunning. Interior with scattered spotting and foxing to text and plates throughout, aquatints with good contemporary handcolour.