Command
Etching, 1937, Hurst 316, edition 50. 8 3/8 x 13 3/4 in. Signed and numbered in ink. This is a fine impression printed on slightly tinted WHATMAN paper with full margins. The condition is excellent. Briscoe's preeminent interest was in depicting ships of all kinds and their crews working on board. His knowledge of how to etch waves and complicated sails and rigging is unsurpassed.
$1,000

Making a Passage
Drypoint, 1924, Hurst 84, edition 75. 6 1/4 x 9 3/4 in. Signed and numbered in ink. This is a fine, luminous impression printed on a cream wove paper. The margins are full and the condition is fine. (There's subtle, small spot of foxing just to the right of the image.)
$550

Mizzen Topmast Crosstrees
Etching, 1931, Hurst 283, edition 75. 13 7/8 x 10 in. Signed, dated and titled in the plate. Signed and numbered in ink. This is a fine impression printed on cream laid paper. The margins are full. The condition is very good apart from a subtle bit of foxing in the lower left corner of the margin and extremely faint toning within an early mat opening.
SOLD

The Bowsprit (Plate 1)
Etching, 1928, Hurst 209, edition 75. 8 3/4 x 13 3/4 in. Signed, dated and titled in the plate, lower right. Signed and numbered in ink. This is a superb impression printed on antique laid paper with a subtle bluish-green tint. The margins are full and the condition is fine. This was Briscoe's own ship called "Golden Vanity," the name of which appears on the bow. He also did an oil painting of the same subject.
$1,200

The Gale
Etching, 1926, Laver 88, Hurst 172 (iii/III); edition 75. 9 7/8 x 13 13/16 in. Signed, titled and dated in the plate,lower right. Signed and numbered in ink. This is a superb impression of this captivating and elaborate print. The margins are full. The condition is fine apart from old hinges showing at the top two corners of the sheet. "We are looking forward from the after deck-house while the ship - the Lwöw - is running with a quartering wind in heavy weather."
SOLD

The Main Brace
Etching, 1930, Laver 147, edition 75 plus 4 trial proofs. 13 7/8 x 10 in. Signed, dated and titled in the plate. Signed and numbered in ink. This is a superb impression printed with light plate tone. Full margins. The condition is fine apart from very slight time staining along the extreme edges of the sheet. There's a faint, very faint, trace of toning within an old mat opening. This outstanding, large work exemplifies Briscoe at his best as an etcher. Amazingly, he did not take up printmaking until the age of fifty and most likely, James McBey was his inspiration. Laver lists a date of 1929 for this print in the catalogue raisonne.
SOLD

The Main Rigging
Etching, 1928, Laver 116, Hurst 217-18; edition 75. 13 3/8 x 8 3/4 in. Signed, dated and titled in the plate. Signed and numbered in pencil. This is a fine impression of this dramatic plate. The margins are full and the condition is very good. There are two states to this print which Hurst describes as two separate plates, H 217 & 218. In fact, this is H218. H217 was never published and exists in proofs only.
SOLD

The Three Barges
Etching, 1925, Hurst 139, edition 75. 7 1/4 x 10 7/8 in. Signed, dated and titled in the plate. Signed and numbered in pencil. This is a fine impression printed with tone. The margins are full and the condition is excellent. According to Hurst, "on the skyline lies Gravesend, viewed from the old Tilbury Hotel". (Gravesend is in northwest Kent along the Thames River."
$550

Typhoon - The Burst Topsail
Etching, 1924, Laver 22, Hurst 94; edition 75. 7 7/8 x 11 7/8 in. Signed and numbered in ink. Here we have a fine impression with full margins. The condition is fine other than for a very faint suggestion of light toning within an earlier mat opening. This dramatic, early print was very well received when it was made in 1924. Briscoe's thorough knowledge of ships and life at sea helped to solidify his reputation as the preeminent British maritime etcher of the 20th century.
$1,200