Thomas Neale (1657)
Thomas Neale: The cardinal
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ery little is know about Thomas Neale; except that he made a number of prints in Paris 1657-1659
much in the style of Wenceslaus Hollar.
Neale, Thomas (fl. 1657), engraver,
worked in the style of Wenceslaus Hollar
[q. v.] He engraved, copying Hollar, twentyfour plates of Holbein's 'Dance of Death.'
The first plate is dated 'Paris, 1657,' and
the plates are signed 'T. N.,' or with his
name in full. Nagler supposes him to have
engraved the plates for the eighth edition of
John Ogilby's 'Fables of Æsop,' and states
that he engraved some of the plates for Barlow's 'Diversæ Avium species,' Paris, 1659
[see, however, under Barlow, Francis].
(Dictionary of national biography, 1908, page 149)
A copy of his dance of death was for sale in 1882:
8024 A Series of 29 beautifully engraved Plates by H. Weyen, after
Hans Holbein, sm. 8vo. brilliant impressions, carefully mounted
and bound in green morocco extra, gilt edges, by Niedrée, £5.
Paris, 1657
This rare edition appears to be unmentioned by either Douce, Dibdin, Brunet or Nagler.
(Catalogue of Romances of Chivalry: Novels, Tales, Allegorical Romances; Apologues, Fables ..., 1882, page 745)
The catalogue remarks that the series is »unmentioned by either
Douce, Dibdin, Brunet or Nagler«.
It had not, however, escaped Eustache-Hyacinthe Langlois:
PARIS.
Gravé par Thomas Neale.
97. — 1657. Mortalium nobilitas || Memorare nouissima et
in æternum non peccabis j| II. Weyen ex.|| — Les armes de la
Mort servent de frontispice, et on lit au bas de cette planche :
Tho : Neale 1657 Paris. — In-16. 50 gravures assez jolies,
copiées d'après Hollar, plus petites que les planches originales et exécutées en sens inverse. Beaucoup d'entr'elles
portent : Tho. Neale fecit ou T.N. simplement. — Se trouve
à Rouen (Bibl. Leber, n° 1565). Cité par Brunet (1842,11,606),
et non par Maßmann.
(E.-H. Langlois: Essai historique, philosophique et pittoresque sur les danses des morts, 1851, volume 2, page 130)
The series is also mentioned by Pennington in his catalogue of Hollar's works:
The Escutcheon of Death
"Thos neale Fecit"
"H. We(r)yen Ex."
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Deuchar was not the only artist to copy the Hollar Dance of Death.
The series was copied in reverse and in slightly smaller size, but without the Diepenbeck borders, and issued in Paris in 1657. On the dais
of P 262 [[i.e. the escutcheon of Death]] is the illegible signature 'G Son...(?) 1657. paris":
and in the lower r. corner 'H. Weryen (?) ex'. The prints are approximately 74 × 54, 111 × 90 including the borders. Some are signed 'TN'.
(Richard Pennington: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Etched Work of Wenceslaus Hollar 1607-1677, 2002, page 30)
Thomas Neale: An almost complete collection
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Pennington interprets the doodles below The Escutcheon of Death (to the left)
as "G Son...(?)", but it says something like "Thos neale Fecit, 1657, Paris".
Many of the scenes are signed "T:N", or more rarely: "Tho. Neale fecit".
In the lower, right corner of the same scene it says in very legible letters: "H. Weryen Ex".
This was presumably Herman Weyen, an engraver of Flemish origins,
who worked in Paris,
He was born in 1638, and he sold his stock as printer and publisher in 1669.
Neale's prints are blatant copies of Hollar.
The various authorities disagree as to whether the series consists of 24, 29 or all 30 scenes.
A set was offered for sale on Ebay in 2012 where
the old man was missing.
As can be seen below, Neale has in fact copied all of Hollar's 30 etchings.
Collection
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External Link
Other interpreters of Holbein's dance of death
Neale has copied Hollar.
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Dances of death
Holbein's dance of death
Neale
