138: THE MUSICAL BORE PAINTING ATTR ROBERT BUSS (1804-1875)

Robert William Buss (1804-1875 )
Mr. Richard Doddicomb, The Musical Bore (19the Century)
Unsigned, attached papers of the period attribute the work to Robert Buss.

Awakened neighbors complain at 2:30 am while Handel looks on disapprovingly.

This composition or a version of it served as an illustration for Burton's Gentleman's Magazine October of 1839. Burton's was a monthly review edited by Edgar Allen Poe and illuminated with poems, fiction, and essays largely of interest to men. 'The Musical Bore' was a literary sketch by William E. Burton himself who worked in the theater as an actor and launched the magazine in 1837. To compete with other magazines, Burton's often commissioned the engraving of illustrations from drawings and paintings. These illustrations would appear at the front of the magazine in the days when illustrating a publication was expensive. An original mezzotint engraving titled THE MUSICAL BORE 'Engraved For Burton's Gentleman's Magazine, Painted by R.W. Buss' is included with this lot.
The work measures 36 x 43 inches.
Good condition, no issues revealed under UV light examination, the canvas has been laid on Masonite, the original stretchers are in place, craquelure, scattered minor in-painted chips.
$1,000 - $2,000