Saturday, October 29, 2011

Regency Ladies in a Midnight Garden by EKD

I thought I'd create another fun digital piece of artwork using some more of these great Ackermann Repository images.  This time I've used one of the garden scenes from a country seat and two of the lovely Ackermann fashion plates.  

Regency Ladies in a Midnight Garden - by EKDuncan
 
Halloween is almost upon us; so I thought I'd give it all a bit of a Gothic feel by using these specific images.  The ruins on the Frogmore estate were the perfect backdrop for my midnight garden and I adore the lady with the cross as my main figure in the scene.  She looked a bit lonely out there by herself so I popped in a companion for her back on the trail so she would not be frightened.

Grins, Goblins and a
Happy Halloween to you all!



Here are the items I used to create the above scene.

I created png images from the original Ackermann fashion plates
so the ladies can now be easily used in digital artwork compositions.


My main lady is from 1827.  
The big cross she wears seemed to tie in so well with the Gothic ruins behind her.

The original version of this and other Regency ladies of 1827 fashion 
from Ackermann's Repository can be found by clicking HERE.



For her companion I chose this lovely lady.

The Original version and other Ackermann Repository Regency 
fashions from 1817 can be seen by clicking HERE.


 This image of the Ruins of Frogmore gave me a great Gothic backdrop.  

To see this and other Regency Era Country Seat images from Ackermann's click HERE


This is what the image looked like after a bit of manipulating in Photoshop.
Now I have a more subdued backdrop for my midnight scene.
There are just so many fun things that can be done with all the amazing images from 
Ackermann's Repository.  I love using them to create digital art scenes in Photoshop
and I hope you guys will use them too.



Here are a few more links for other EKDuncan Artwork
I've created using the Ackermann images.



Quick Links to other 
Ackermann Repository images I've posted.


Ackermann's ran series 1 from 1809 - 1815
Ackermann's ran series 2 from 1816 - 1822

 Ackermann Repository Regency Needlework Patterns

Ackermann Repository Scenic Images


There is still more Ackermann's to come...
Curtains and Furniture Plates will be posted soon so please visit again.


 Till next time...

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Regency Era - Architectural Blueprints - Ackermann's Repository

Ackermann's Repository had a very interesting architectural blueprint series of  illustrations that were published from 1816 and 1817; with an additional 2 published later on in 1821.  They called this series "Architectural Hints" and it was to inspire the beautification process on rural properties.  These include a variety of cottages, lodges, villas and a variety of  other out-buildings.

I believe Ackermann's used their monthly issues of the Repository to see what might prove popular for the book buying public.  This series must have proven successful enough; since in 1818 Ackermann's published a book entitled "Rural Residences Consisting of a Series of Designs for Cottages, Small Villas and Other Ornamental Buildings"  using these images.

The same was true for the Ackermann's Repository "Hints on Ornamental Gardening" series 
(I covered the "garden" images in a previous post.)  
Those images and a few more were published in an 1823 book 
produced by the Ackermann Publishing house 
titled "Hints on Ornamental Gardening: Consisting of A Series of Designs 
for Garden Buildings, Useful and Decorative".   

It just goes to show Mr. Ackermann was a good business man and made money by recycling 
his images and finding a new audience to purchase them a second time round.

Gothic Architecture had a resurgence in the Regency period as shown with this 1816 conservatory.



Here is the article that accompanied this lovely print 
in the July 1816 issue of Ackermann's Repository.





More Beautiful Images from the Ackermann's Repository series:
"Architectural Hints"















This is listed in Ackermann's description as a Steward's Cottage











I love being able to have these beautiful image to play with; but I'm most especially thrilled to have the blueprint layout. I enjoy having an idea of what the interior rooms were and how they were situated.  It's just another of those tidbits of information I find fascinating and I hope you do too.


Please join me again as I continue with a treasure trove of more Regency Era images 
from the pages of Ackermann's Repository.



Till next time...



Thanks for visiting me here at EKDuncan.blogspot.com

If you have enjoyed seeing these images from Ackermann's Repository 
and would like the opportunity to see and read an original for yourself 
they are are available on line at www.archive.org

Click HERE then choose the volume you are interested in.
You can then see and read them online or download 
them to your computer for future reference.
Enjoy!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Regency England - Country Seats - Ackermann's Repository

Ackermann's Repository did an extensive series in the 1820's regarding Country Seat Estates.
At the time, this would have been the equivalent of a modern day magazine spread
on Mansions of the Rich and Famous.

In Regency England the members of the peerage and holders of a title would usually have a "Country Seat".  Engaging in "trade" was considered a taboo for the gentry, so many of them obtained their income off the land via their estates. Those enterprises necessitated the best profit from those working the lands surrounding their estates and the home base of these operations would normally have been considered the Country Seat.  In many cases, these estates were of such significances to a titled lord, that they were entailed properties that could not be sold or gambled away; therefore insuring that they remained in the family at all costs.

A Country Seat would also have been a large estate or property in the country
for those without title and rank but of great fortune.
This was becoming more readily scene as men from the lower gentry and upper
middle class were making their fortune in various pursuits such as: 
Military, Medicine, Law, Banking and Investment Speculation. 

One of my favorites from Ackermann's Country Seat series

I read a lot of Regency romances, and many of those books include homes and estates with Hall, Priory, Lodge, Abbey, or Park as part of it's name.  I found it most educational to view a variety of estate homes with these names as part of their title and to see what one might have actually looked like in Regency times.

Ackermann's always included information for each of the Country Seats depicted.  Some of the articles were brief and to the point while others were very elaborate and informative.  I guess this depended on the importance of the person who owned the estate and/or the history of the estate itself. Many of the estates shown hold an interesting historical past that have connections to previous British nobility and were then purchased in Regency times by men of great fortune but little or no rank in the British aristocracy.

This is the article that accompanied the above rendition of Lubscombe
Country Seat of Charles Hoare, Esq
(this one was a brief narrative about the home)



It's interesting to know that during this time period it was not uncommon for persons of
quality visiting an area to request permission to tour a great home of interest.
These articles may have proved useful for those who were so inclined to request a "visit".


Here is another article of a Country Seat; however this example shows a more in-depth account.
This one is for Eaton Hall - Country Seat of the Earl of Grosvenor








 Ackermann's covered around 150 "County Seats" from 1823 - 1828
I've only chosen to show 36 of the more interesting and attractive views.

 Enjoy!


 Views of Country Seats 1823 - 1828

1823 Chiswick House -  Duke of Devonshire country seat

1823 Frogmore House front view - Princess Augusta's

1823 Frogmore - The Ruins - Princess Augusta's

1823 - His Majesty's Cottage from the lake  - King George IV

1823 His Majesty's Cottage Windsor - King George IV

1823 Sion House - Duke of Northumberland's country seat

Sion House - The Park Entrance - Duke of Northumberland's

1823 Ditton - Seat of Lord Montagu

1823 Eaton Hall - Entrance Front - Seat of Earl of Grosvenor

1823 Eaton Hall - West, Front - Seat of Earl of Grosvenor

1823 Sophia Lodge  - wooded view - W.M. Dawson, Esq Residence

1823 Sophia Lodge - Residence of W.M. Dawson, Esq

1823 Talby House - Knutsford, Cheshire - Baronet Leiceter's country seat

1824 Delaford Park - Seat of C. Clowis, ESQ

1824 Wanstead House - William Pole Tilney Long Wellsley, Esq. Country Seat

1824 Hampton House - Residence of the late Mrs. Garrick

1824 Mrs Palmer's Villa - Richmond

1824 Newstead Abbey - Lieutenant-Colonel Wildman's Country Seat
Previously owned by Lord Byron

1824 Riching's Lodge (Iver) - Seat of The Right Hon. John Sullivan

1824 Flamstead House (Grenwich Park)  - converted to become The Royal Observatory

1825 Belvoir Castle (Leicestershire) - Duke Rutland's Seat

1825 Moor Park (Hertfordshire) - Seat of Robert Williams, Esq.

1825 Wimbledon Park - Lord Spencer's Seat

1826 Coleorton Hall - Seat of Sir George Beaumont, Baronet

1826 Appuldurcombe (Isle of Wight) - Seat of the Earl of Yarborough

1826 Cobham Hall (Kent) - Seat of the Earl of Darnley

1827 Burford Priory (Oxfordshire) - Seat of J.W. Lenthall, Esq.

1827 Eridge Park (Sussex) -The Earl of Ashburnham's Country Seat

1828 Ashbridge House (Herts) - Countess of Bridgewater's Country Seat

1828 Muskaw in Silesia (Prussia) - Prince Pichler
On occasion the "Country Seat series" would include elaborate estates 
on the continent, this was one of those "special" cases.

1828 Selsdon (Surrey) - Seat of George Smith, Esq. M.P.

1828 Belmont House (Devon) - Seat of John Norman, Esq.

1828 Chevenign (Kent) - The Earl of Stanhope's Country Seat

1828 Endsleigh (Devon) - Duke of Bedford - Country Seat

1828 Harefield (Devon) - Gattey, Esq.

1828 Luscombe (Devon) - Charles Hoare, Esq.

1828 Seat of G.B. Greenough. Esq - Regent's Park


I enjoy using vintage images like these in my digital art.  They can make a great
backdrop in a digital scene or can be used in a variety of crafting projects.
In a previous post I showed how took images similar to these to create fun
digital scrapbook pages.

Thanks for joining me on my continuing series into Ackermann's Repository.


Till we meet again...


Thanks for visiting me here at EKDuncan.blogspot.com

If you have enjoyed seeing these images from Ackermann's Repository 
and would like the opportunity to see and read an original for yourself 
they are are available on line at www.archive.org

Click HERE then choose the volume you are interested in.
You can then see and read them online or download 
them to your computer for future reference.
Enjoy!