Lot 68
ATTRIBUTED JOHN MOYR SMITH (1839-1912)
FIVE ILLUSTRATIONS FOR 'THE MISTLETOE BOUGH', CIRCA 1890
Auction: Day One | Lots 1 to 229 | Wed 15th April 2026 from 10am
Description
watercolour, framed (5)
Dimensions
each approx. 16.5cm x 24.5cm
Provenance
Ernest Biddle Esq.
Biddle & Webb Auctioneers, 1997
Private Collection
Footnote
‘The Mistletoe Bough’ was written as a song and tells the story of a game of hide and seek that goes tragically wrong. When the young bride climbs into an old oak chest, the lid slams shut, and she is not found until many years later. The song was composed circa 1830 by Sir Henry Bishop (1786–1855) with words by Thomas Haynes Bayly (1797–1839). The direct inspiration for Bayly’s rendition was probably ‘Ginevra’, a poem published in 1822 by the English poet Samuel Rogers, telling much the same story. These illustrations may have been commissioned for one of Marcus Ward’s ‘Illuminated Tales’ series but were never published.