Lifetime Print Jean Baptiste Camille Corot \"Dreamer Under Tall Trees\" 1874 CV For Sale

However, other than not being included in the published runs of the afore mentioned, another aspect lends a clue to the era of production for this print - the paper used. Le Garrec used \"fancy\" thick paper that had identification stamps. Lebel used Lumiere paper meant to look more like the original paper used, but it was also thicker and stiffer and the lines of the image sat on top of the paper trapped in the gelatin emulsion layer (continuing comparisons to later published print runs that didn\'t include this plate may seem rhetorical, but establishing differences in the paper type is the point).

The paper used for this print does not share these characteristics. It is very thin, nearly transparent, as the image is easily visible from verso even with indirect lighting. The edges of the print are slightly crooked, suggesting they were hand cut, seemingly with less interest in the overall presentation. This is from one of Corot\'s final six plates he created in 1874, and rumor has it these had more of an experimental purpose than to be published for sale.

Along with the image seen on the verso, there are lines that are only seen from the verso and are not part of the image. Long, looping and swirling lines can be seen at angles and are more isolated with exposure manipulation of the image. They are not visible on the recto under any adjustments or image manipulation, nor are they visible on the verso when backlit. Some of the lines originate/terminate beyond the borders of the paper. These are believed to have been created during the paper making process. Very peculiar and unique.

Also on the verso, in the upper left corner, there is a penciled notation that looks to read \"S97\". The relevance of this is unclear.

The \"ghost\" lines and the \"S97\" were discovered only because the right side corners have broken away from the mount, thanks to the type of glue used. The corners of the print stayed with the mount, creating a fairly clean fracture line. The left side is still attached to the mount, so the broken corners still line up very well, so repairing is a viable option.

On the verso of the mount (mentioned earlier), there is a penciled description that says \"Etching by Corot, Printed from glass\" and \"Mount No 1\'3 (or 1/3)\".

The image of this print differs from all the other available images of the 4 known original prints of Dreamer Under Tall Trees, but they are all different as well. Only the National Gallery of Art and Delteil\'s catalogue image share the same characteristics and details, but they very well could be images from the same print. That all the examples differ from one another suggest Desavary had \"experimented\" with the printing process. This print has very sharp lines and clean spacing between them. The NGA image had thicker, muddled lines that really alter the overall view.

Along with NGA, the other images are at the New York Library, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and at BnF Museum in France. The BnF image is the one most like this one, and it is highly likely they are printed together. This one and the BnF are the only ones with the original margins, all the others have been cropped!

This print was discovered among the papers of Reed Harris. Harris\'s mother, Lois Harris, was a close friend of Adah Van Noppen, wife of Leonard Van Noppen. Leonard was prominent in the artist\'s crowd of the turn of the century and made multiple trips to Europe, including as Naval attache to Holland during WWI. There was correspondence and works from prominent artists of the time, including Eugene Higgins and Sheldon Parsons. Turns out that Parsons\' wife was Caroline Reed Harris, great aunt of Reed Harris, and Higgins was married to Sara Parsons, Sheldon and Caroline\'s daughter.  Higgins, a prominent artist known for his etchings went to Paris in 1897 to learn more and returned in 1904 to open a gallery in New York. This would have been before Delteil created his catalogue making cliche verre the established name of the process. So if Higgins is the one who obtained this print (speculation), he wouldn\'t have written cliche verre on the back because at that time he knew no one in America would know what that meant, so he wrote \"Etching by Corot, Printed from glass\". It\'s even plausible that it was Paul Desavary (son of Charles) whom he obtained this from, and just as plausible from whom everyone obtained the Corot cliche verre prints from the 1870s, if he inherited them from Charles. A plausible possibility, but not confirmed or even suggested. Just trying to piece it all together.

Please look at the photos, as anything not mentioned will be shown and everything mentioned is seen.

Price reflects the rarity as well as the condition.

All reasonable offers will be considered.

*This was found with another Corot cliche verre, \"The Poet and His Muse\" (1871) that has the same description and the same handwriting on the verso, also listed for sale.