February 2006 - Additions

February was marked by the addition of several portraits. The most important is a portrait of the British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger. It is engraved on the reverse "Rt Hon'ble William Pitt" and is believed to have been painted by John Donaldson. He was the youngest ever Prime Minister of England.

There is also a portrait of a French child signed Gobert 1817. The signature previously read as Jobert, but the signature is now believed to be that of Antoine Nicolas Martial Gobert. Research has identified his full name which is listed in Blattel only as Martial Gobert. As this miniature is dated 1817 and he was married in 1818, it pushes his likely date of birth back before the previous estimate of 1800, see Gobert, Antoine Nicolas Martial - portrait of girl...

The others are American. One is of a young lady named Elizabeth Fontaine. There is an incomplete inscription on the reverse which appears to indicate the portrait was painted by Jason Bartlett.

The other pair are front and reverse portraits in a locket type frame. Unfortunately the one from the reverse is rubbed. The frame is unusual in that it has a fixed metal divider between the front and rear. The pair of portraits have been attributed to Edward Savage.