Charlotte Bronte Portrait 1861

Item # 2753     Price $45

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This is a genuine antique engraving of Charlotte Bronte. A beautiful 19th century image, originally drawn by J.B. Wandesford and engraved by W.G. Jackman, a fine and evocative portrait This print was published in an American literary and arts publication in 1861. It is accompanied by several pages of original text.

Charlotte's first attempt at the novel was entitled The Professor, but the story was rejected by publishers. Her second attempt was published in October, 1847. Jane Eyre: An Autobiography was an immediate success. Several months later Anne's Agnes Grey and Emily's Wuthering Heights were published together in three volumes. The popularity of the Bronte novels allowed Anne's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall to be published shortly thereafter.

The next year was one of tragedy for the Bronte sisters. Their brother Branwell, an unstable man with a history of drunkenness and opium use died in September 1848. Emily then fell ill and died of tuberculosis December 19, 1848. Anne soon followed, contracting tuberculosis that same year and dying May 28, 1949. Charlotte continued to live virtually alone at Haworth, where she completed Shirley: A Tale.

Over the next few years, Charlotte traveled to London several times as a guest of her publisher. She met novelist William Makepeace Thackeray, was painted by portrait artist George Richmond, and met her future biographer, Elizabeth Gaskell. In 1853, Charlotte published Villette.

During this period, Charlotte also accepted an offer of marriage from her father's curate Arthur Bell Nicholls. She had rejected three previous offers from other suitors, but on June 29, 1854, she and Nicholls were wed. They enjoyed brief happiness. After returning to Haworth, Charlotte fell ill during pregnancy. She died March 31, 1855. Her first novel The Professor was published posthumously in 1857, and an unfinished work entitled Emma was published in 1860.


Dimensions of the print area are, minus margins, approx. 4.75 by 7 inches and the overall size is approx. 6.50 by 10 inches. This is not a reproduction or reprint. It is a 139 year-old steel engraving, in excellent condition and guaranteed to be as described. The print has been cleaned and is free of age toning and foxing spots.