“Mrs. Clive, in the Character of Phillida.” From the painting by G. Schalken, engraved by John Faber.

“Mrs. Clive, in the Character of Phillida.” From the painting by G. Schalken, engraved by John Faber.

London:

E. Evans,

1734.

This mezzotint portrait of the British stage actress Catherine Clive, née Raftor (1711–1785), was engraved by John Faber (ca. 1695–1756), a mezzotint engraver whose father also specialized in the technique. The plate is in high demand in RBS courses, as it is the School’s only pre-1800 mezzotint plate; early plates rarely survive, and most of the extant ones have long since been acquired by institutions.

From the collection of Rare Book School