Landscape prints

The Landscape Prints Collection consists of over 14,000 prints, mainly of Welsh scenery. The majority can be dated to between 1750 and 1850, but there are some earlier prints in the collection. The collection shows how the print developed until it was replaced by the photograph in the early years of the 19th century.

 Highlights

• Amongst the most prominent early engravers were the brothers Samuel and Nathaniel Buck, who produced views of castles, monasteries, abbies and other antiquities along with a number of scenes of towns (1740–42). Included in the collection are the complete series of their works in England and in Wales.
• Paul Sandby’s excellent aquatint sepia prints of Wales (Views in Wales, 1755) were the first to be published in Britain, and the first Welsh scenery to have extensive attention.
• The best examples of coloured aquatint can be seen in ‘A Voyage Round Great Britain’ by Richard Ayton and William Daniel, 1813. William Daniel was responsible for the prints.
• Rivers of Wales, J G Wood was published in 1813. Amongst Wood’s engravings are the iron works of Cyfarthfa and Penydarren along with Morriston copper works.
• Edward Pugh’s aquatint scenes appeared in ‘Cambria Depicta’ in 1816; here we see pictures of Mynydd Parys copper works on Anglesey.
• It was Hugh Hughes who was responsible for ‘The Beauties of Cambria’ (1823); this was illustrated by wooden engravings.
• The steel engravings by Henry Gastineau for ‘Wales’ Illustrated (1831) are very familiar.

The rest of the world

Although the emphasis is often on Welsh items within the Library’s prints collection, there are a number of volumes which discuss Britain in general or which discuss specific subjects – for example

• Lady Llanover’s Lithographs of the Welsh dress in 1834
• Prints by the artists Rembrandt and Whistler that were bequeathed to the Library by the Davies sisters, Gregynog

You can search for prints on our Catalogue.