Album of sketches by Mary Boott
Content Description
This album dating from 1823 to 1857 contains accomplished drawings of landscape and town views across England and Scotland by the amateur artist Mary Boott. Most sketches are signed by her, dated, and inscribed with locations.
Mary Boott (née Hardcastle) was married to American botanist Francis Boott (1792-1863) and would often accompany him on his field collecting trips, and while he went off looking for plant specimens she drew the landscapes they visited. The drawings are grouped in style and subject matter, all dated.
The album follows Mary's travels across Scotland and England, starting with Perth in 1924:
- Summer 1824: Scotland. Perth, Beinn a' Ghlò and Blair Atholl, Aberarder near Loch Laggan, Moul[in]inn, Dalwhinnie (7 drawings).
- One drawing of Spondon Church, Derbyshire.
- June and July 1839: Hastings and Brighton and surrounding countryside (13 sepia wash drawings), and Bath (2 wash townscapes).
- August and September 1843: Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire and surroundings, as well as Clifton near Bristol and the area of Woodford forest, northeast of London (10 drawings).
- August and September 1844: forests of Hainault and again Woodford (12 drawings).
- October 1844: Sandrock (7 drawings).
- Seven undated drawings of wild sfumato landscapes.
- August and September 1845: Derby and Derbyshire (19 drawings on beige tinted paper with white highlights).
- September and October 1846: Hastings, and further inland Battle (23 mostly large drawings on same beige tinted paper, some heightened in white, and 6 smaller drawings on pale blue paper stock).
- August and September 1847: Torquay and Torbay, in Devon (13 sepia wash drawings with many white highlights, most on tinted paper).
- September 1848: Torbay in Devon once again (10 drawings with some white highlights).
- September 1851: sketches of trees and views from Windsor and the Great Park.
- August 1853: sketches of landscapes around Barnham in West Sussex.
- September 1857: sketches of tree studies around Barnham in West Sussex
There are also a number of unsigned or undated drawings throughout.
Dates
- Creation: 1824-1857
Creator
- Boott, Mary, fl 1824-1857 (née Hardcastle | artist) (Artist, Person)
Condition Description
Large 4to (285 x 235 mm), 180 album leaves (including 58 blank, mostly at end) with 148 drawings in pen, pencil, black chalk, sepia wash, many heightened with white, predominantly in two sizes, mostly large with one drawing to a leaf, c. 170 x 260 mm, or two drawings to a leaf, c. 125 x 180 mm; drawings in excellent condition; contemporary half green morocco, very worn, front cover detached, spine missing but stitching intact, inside front cover artist name "Mary Boott" in manuscript, possibly in slightly later hand, contemporary brown ink drawing of an armoured boot pasted on inside front cover.
Conditions Governing Access
Open. Please contact the repository in advance.
Extent
1 album
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased in February 2022. Accession no. SC-Acc-2022-0055.
Condition Description
Large 4to (285 x 235 mm), 180 album leaves (including 58 blank, mostly at end) with 148 drawings in pen, pencil, black chalk, sepia wash, many heightened with white, predominantly in two sizes, mostly large with one drawing to a leaf, c. 170 x 260 mm, or two drawings to a leaf, c. 125 x 180 mm; drawings in excellent condition; contemporary half green morocco, very worn, front cover detached, spine missing but stitching intact, inside front cover artist name "Mary Boott" in manuscript, possibly in slightly later hand, contemporary brown ink drawing of an armoured boot pasted on inside front cover.
Processing Information
Catalogued in May 2022 by Aline Brodin, using information supplied by the seller.
Creator
- Boott, Mary, fl 1824-1857 (née Hardcastle | artist) (Artist, Person)
- Title
- Album of sketches by Mary Boott, 1824-1857
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository
Centre for Research Collections
University of Edinburgh Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
+44(0)131 650 8379
heritagecollections@ed.ac.uk