Portrait of Thomas Hobbes
Date
1792
Sitter
Thomas Hobbes (1588 - 1679, British) , Philosopher
Creator
James Posselwhite (1798 - 1884, British) , Engraver
After
Jan Baptist Jaspers (1615 - 1691, Flemish) , Painter
Object type
Archive reference number
Material
Technique
Dimensions
height (print): 220mm
width (print): 135mm
width (print): 135mm
Subject
Description
Head and shoulders study of Thomas Hobbes, wrapped in a loose dark cloak or drape, wearing a white collar. Full face, looking directly to the viewer, presented in an oval frame.
Plate from a grangerized copy of A history of the Royal Society, with memoirs of the Presidents…by Charles Richard Weld (London, John W. Parker, 1848). In this edition, the original two volumes were extended to eight volumes with the addition of extra-illustrations and documents, by Alexander Meyrick Broadley.
The engraving appears at p.115, as Weld’s text notes that at the Royal Society on 4 September 1661, ‘Some papers were delivered in by Sir P. Neile from the King, and endorsed by His Majesty’s own hand: they were about Mr. Hobbes’ mean proportionalls’.
Inscribed below: ‘HOBBES. From a Picture by Dobson in the Possession of The Royal Society. Engraved by J. Posselwhite. Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street.’
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) British philosopher and author of Leviathan (1651).
Plate from a grangerized copy of A history of the Royal Society, with memoirs of the Presidents…by Charles Richard Weld (London, John W. Parker, 1848). In this edition, the original two volumes were extended to eight volumes with the addition of extra-illustrations and documents, by Alexander Meyrick Broadley.
The engraving appears at p.115, as Weld’s text notes that at the Royal Society on 4 September 1661, ‘Some papers were delivered in by Sir P. Neile from the King, and endorsed by His Majesty’s own hand: they were about Mr. Hobbes’ mean proportionalls’.
Inscribed below: ‘HOBBES. From a Picture by Dobson in the Possession of The Royal Society. Engraved by J. Posselwhite. Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street.’
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) British philosopher and author of Leviathan (1651).
Object history
Print from Charles Richard Weld's A history of the Royal Society, vol. 1... (London, John W. Parker, 1848) grangerized by the writer and collector Alexander Meyrick Broadley (1847–1916) into 8 volumes, adding illustrative material and manuscript items to Weld's text. The books were initially owned by Ludwig Mond FRS (1839–1909), and according to an inscription by his son Robert Ludwig Mond FRS (1867–1938) they were intended for presentation to the Society. This eventually happened in late 1959, the donor being the politician Harry Nathan (1889–1963), Lord Nathan of Churt.
Related fellows
Charles Richard Weld (1813 - 1869, British) , Author
Associated place