The Beggar of Bednall Green and his Daughter.With that an angel he cast on the ground,/ And dropped, in angels, full three thousand pound/ Thus was the fair Bessee matched to a knight/ And then made a ladye in others despite/ A fairer lady there never was seen/ Then the blind beggar's daughter of Bednall Green. [&] The Beggar of Bednall Green, his Daughter and the Knight. To church then went this gallant young knight,/ His bride followed after, an angel most bright,/ With troops of ladyes the like never was seen/ That went with sweet Bessee of Bednall Green' In joy and felicity lon lived he,/ All with his fair ladye the prettye Bessye.
R. Pollard fect. Aquatinted by J. Wells [first plate]. Aquatinted by J. Jukes [second plate].
London, Published Septr. 6, 1787, by R. Pollard, Engraver, No.15, Braynes Row, Spa Fields.
Pair of aquatints with etching, each c.327 x 275mm.
A fine pair of prints that illustrate the popular Elizabethan ballad 'The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green'. This tells the story of Henry de Montfort, a son of Simon de Montfort. He was wounded and lost his sight in the Battle of Evesham in 1265, and was nursed to health by a baroness, and together they had a child named Besse (commemorated in Besse Road in London's East End). He became the Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green and used to beg at the crossroads. The story of how he went from landed gentry to poor beggar became hugely popular in the Tudor era, and was revived by Percy's 'Reliques of Ancient English Poetry', published in 1765. The legend came to be incorporated into the arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green in 1900. Published by Robert Pollard (c.1755 - 1838) after his own designs.
[Ref: 8101] £490.00
London, Published Septr. 6, 1787, by R. Pollard, Engraver, No.15, Braynes Row, Spa Fields.
Pair of aquatints with etching, each c.327 x 275mm.
A fine pair of prints that illustrate the popular Elizabethan ballad 'The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green'. This tells the story of Henry de Montfort, a son of Simon de Montfort. He was wounded and lost his sight in the Battle of Evesham in 1265, and was nursed to health by a baroness, and together they had a child named Besse (commemorated in Besse Road in London's East End). He became the Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green and used to beg at the crossroads. The story of how he went from landed gentry to poor beggar became hugely popular in the Tudor era, and was revived by Percy's 'Reliques of Ancient English Poetry', published in 1765. The legend came to be incorporated into the arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green in 1900. Published by Robert Pollard (c.1755 - 1838) after his own designs.
[Ref: 8101] £490.00