A Most Masterly Work of Art. The Standard Steel Line Portrait of Gen. U.S. Grant by The World-Renowned Prince of Line Engravers, William Edgar Marshall. [engraving prospectus]

“The Greatest Success in Line Portraiture ever Attained! Marshall Stands Unrivaled!”

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Rare prospectus for a line engraved portrait of President Ulysses S. Grant in military uniform by painter William Edgar Marshall (1837–1906). Marshall is here described as the “World-Renowned Prince of Line Engravers.”

The prospectus reprints an article from the Watchman newspaper of Boston which explains the superiority of line engraving over mezzotint or stipple engraving processes and includes testimonials from ex-President Rutherford B. Hayes and others including noted Philadelphia engraver, John Sartain, who declares:

The masterly execution of the flesh tints of the features is above the need of any praise of mine, as will be evident to every one at all conversant with that difficult branch of art. (emphasis in original)

The engraving was available for sale at three price points, $20.00, $10.00, and $5.00, for Artist’s Proofs (on fine British paper and signed by the artist), India Proofs (on fine British paper), and Plain Proofs on “extra quality Plate Paper.”

“William Edgar Marshall was born to Scottish parents in New York City in 1837. At a young age, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he earned a living as a watchmaker. He then worked for the US Treasury Department, where he learned how to engrave portraits. In 1858 he was given a rare opportunity to work for the American Bank Note Company, where he spent ‘several years and became one of its best engravers.” At the age of 21, he set off for Paris, where he planned to learn how to become a great painter. He returned to the United States during the Civil War, when “news of the assassination of Lincoln brought him home to paint, from photographs and descriptions, a portrait of the martyred President.’ ... He also painted several notable figures including Ulysses S. Grant and George Sherman during this period.”¹

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