- Museum number
- A305.2B
- Object
- Silhouette: Profile of Captain Francis Holburne by William Hamlet, paper, about 1810
- Description
- Five sheets of silhouettes cut out of glossy black paper, bound together as an album.Life-size profile head, as A305.2a, but reversed. Inscription on verso in ink: "C. [i.e. Captain?] Holburne"
- Materials
- Paper
- On display?
- Yes
Further description
- Simple name
- Silhouette
Profile head of Captain Francis Holburne (1788-1814)
William Hamlet (active 1785-1816)
Paper, about 1810
Inscribed on the reverse:
Hamlet's shade of dear F
The earliest silhouettes were cut out of paper. The best profile-cutters worked freehand, with only their eye to guide the scissors. Others invented ways of tracing round the shadow of their sitter. This cut-out was traced from Captain Francis Holburne’s shadow. It was then used to create the finished silhouette of the Captain in full uniform displayed in the Posnett Gallery.
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