[Published by J. & E. Wallis, 42 Skinner Street, London, and J. Wallis, Jun.r Marine Library Sidmouth.] [n.d., c.1815].
Coloured stipple with engraving. 180 x 135mm (7 x 5¼"), with partial watermark '181'. [&] Stipple with engraving. Sheet 90 x 75mm (3½ x 3"). Trimmed to printed border. [&] Very trimmed, losing title 'Explanation' at top, glued to backing sheet.
A 'puzzle' portrait with a bouquet of violets containing concealed profiles of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), his wife Marie Louise of Austria (1791-1847), and Napoleon Francis Joseph Charles (1811-1832), King of Rome. Napoleon was nicknamed "Corporal Violet" for promising his soldiers he would return from Elba during the Violet season. Such designs were surreptitious ways of showing loyalty after Napoleon's fall from grace. The solution to the famous 'puzzle' portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), his wife Marie Louise of Austria (1791-1847), and son, Napoleon Francis Joseph Charles (1811-1832), hidden in a bouquet of violets.
See Ref: 58681.
[Ref: 60825]  £160.00