Finding Aid for the Charles Shannon Collection Shannon Collection

Processed by Katie Duvall; revised 2023 by Rebecca Fenning Marschall
William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
©2010
2520 Cimarron Street
Los Angeles 90018
clark@humnet.ucla.edu


Contributing Institution: William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
Title: Charles Shannon Collection
Creator: Shannon, Charles, 1863-1937
Identifier/Call Number: Shannon Collection
Physical Description: 3 Linear Feet 4 boxes
Date (inclusive): about 1890-1950
Abstract: This collection contains visual material created by Charles Shannon, an English artist, printer and lithographer active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Physical Location: Clark Library
Language of Material: English .

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, UCLA. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Clark Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, UCLA as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item, Box and folder number], Charles Shannon Collection, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Acquisition Information

This collection was acquired through various Clark Library purchases (accessions MS.1951.023, MS.1960.017, MS.1960.018), as well as by the generous donation of Albert Sperisen (accessions MS,1965.003, MS.1968.009, MS.1968.010, MS.1969.001).

Processing History

Processed by Katie Duvall, October 2010
Revised by Rebecca Fenning Marschall, August 2023.

Biography

Charles Haslewood Shannon was born on April 26, 1863 in Quarrington, Lincolnshire, England. He studied wood engraving at the Lambeth Art School from 1881-1885. It was in this period he met his lifelong partner, artist and printer, Charles de Sousy Ricketts.
The two lived in London, where together they founded an occasional art journal, The Dial (1889-1897) and designed and illustrated books, including Daphnis and Chloe (1893) and Hero and Leander (1894). In partnership with wealthy lawyer William Llewellyn Hacon, Ricketts and Shannon ran their own imprint, called the Vale Press, from 1896-1904. The Vale Press published over eighty volumes.
In this period Shannon also developed his skills as a painter and lithographer. Today, his paintings can be found in museum collections around the world, including the Musee d'Orsay and the Tate. His body of lithographic work contains more than 100 works and is considered a major British contribution to printmaking.
In 1929, Shannon fell while hanging a picture in the home he shared with Ricketts and suffered brain damage from which he never recovered. He died in London on March 18, 1937.

Scope and Content

This collection includes lithographs by Charles Shannon, as well as other original artwork and 30 trial proofs created by Shannon and Charles Ricketts for their publication of Daphnis and Chloe.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Lithography -- England -- 19th century
Woodcuts (prints)
Drawings (visual works) -- England -- 19th century
Book design -- England -- 19th century

 

Charles Shannon original artwork and lithographs Series 1. 1892-1917

Box MS.1951.023 Bx 1, Folder 5

Repeated bend 1892

Physical Description: 1 print: black & white lithograph; 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 in.

Scope and Contents

Inscription in lower right corner: C.H. Shannon R 11. Published in The Dial, no. 2 (1892).
Box MS.1960.017 Bx 1, Folder 4

White nights 1893

Physical Description: 1 print: black & white lithograph; 13 1/2 x 9 in.

Scope and Contents

Inscription C.H. Shannon. Published in The Dial, no. 3 (1893).
Box MS.1960.017 Bx 1, Folder 3

The three sisters 1894

Physical Description: 1 print: black & white lithograph; 8 1/4 x 9 7/8 in.

Scope and Contents

Inscription: C.H. Shannon. Published in Portfolio No. 2 (1894).
Box MS.1960.017 Bx 1, Folder 2

Biondina 1894

Physical Description: 2 prints: black & white lithograph; image 8 1/2 x 10 in

Scope and Contents

2 copies, printed on different papers. Inscription: C.H. Shannon. Published in L'estampe originale, Paris (1894).
Box MS.1960.017 Bx 1, Folder 1

The wood engraver 1894

Physical Description: 1 print: black & white lithograph; 6 3/4 x 6 7/8 in

Scope and Contents

Portrait of Charles Ricketts. Inscription Charles H. Shannon. Published in Portfolio no. 2 (1894).
Box MS.1951.023 Bx 1, Folder 1

The little Venus 1895

Physical Description: 1 print: black & white lithograph; image 16 x 12 cm

Scope and Contents

Inscription in lower right: C.H. Shannon, R40.
Box MS.1951.023 Bx 1, Folder 6

The stone bath 1895

Physical Description: 1 print: black & white lithograph; 6 1/8 x 4 3/8 in.

Scope and Contents

Inscription in lower right corner: C.H. Shannon. Published in The Savoy, no. 3 (1896).
Box MS.1960.017 Bx 1, Folder 6

E.J. van Wisselingh 1895

Physical Description: 1 print: black & white lithograph; 9 1/2 x 8 1/2 in

Scope and Contents

Inscription: C.H. Shannon. Published in Portfolio No. 3 (1895) as "A portrait sketch."
Box MS.1960.017 Bx 1, Folder 7

Le fumeur 1895

Physical Description: 1 print: black & white lithograph; 10 3/8 x 9 1/8 in.

Scope and Contents

Inscription: C.H. Shannon. Published by Portfolio No. 3 (1895) as "A portrait sketch."
Box MS.1951.023 Bx 1, Folder 4

The nursery floor 1896

Physical Description: 1 print: red lithograph; image 8 1/2 x 7 3/4 in.

Scope and Contents

Inscription in lower right corner: C.H. Shannon. Published in L'estampe, Paris.
Box MS.1960.017 Bx 1, Folder 8

W.L. Hacon 1896

Physical Description: 1 print: black & white lithograph; 14 3/4 x 9 1/4 in.

Scope and Contents

Inscription: Charles Shannon. R42 W.L. Hacon.
Box MS.1951.023 Bx 1, Folder 2

The dressing-room 1897

Physical Description: 1 print: black & white lithograph; 5 7/8 x 4 7/8 in.

Scope and Contents

Inscription in lower right corner: C.H. Shannon. Published in The dial, no. 5 (1897).
Box MS.1951.023 Bx 1, Folder 3

After the bath 1897

Physical Description: 1 print: black & white lithograph; 6 1/8 x 4 3/4 in.

Scope and Contents

Inscription in lower right corner: C.H. Shannon.
Box MS.1960.017 Bx 1, Folder 9

The infancy of Bacchus 1897

Physical Description: 1 print: green lithograph; image diameter 10 in.

Scope and Contents

Published in The dial, no. 5 (1897).
Box MS.1960.017 Bx 1, Folder 10

The morning visit 1906

Physical Description: 2 prints: one black & white lithograph, one green lithograph; 9 7/8 x 8 3/8 in.

Scope and Contents

Green lithograph as issued to subscribers of The Burlington magazine in 1906, signed CHS on stone. Black-and-white lithograph signed in pencil, with inscription : "Morning visit R.68. Early state (bef borderline was strengthened at top)."
Box MS.1960.017 Bx 1, Folder 5

The toilet (a fan) 1906

Physical Description: 1 print: sanguine lithograph; 5 1/2 x 16 1/4 in.

Scope and Contents

Inscription: Charles Shannon no. 64, 1st state. Title inscribed in Shannon's hand on verso.
Box Clark Artwork 16A, Folder 9

Wise and foolish virgin 1917

Physical Description: 1 drawing: charcoal and crayon on gray paper; 15 3/4 x 8 1/4 in.

Scope and Contents

Likely a study for Shannon's 1919-1920 painting "The wise and foolish virgins." Inscription at bottom of page:" CS 1917. Wise & foolish virgin." Purchase, David Magee, 1960 (MS.1960.018).
 

Collaborative works Series 2. 1893

Box MS.1965.003 Bx 1-2

Daphnis and Chloe 1893

Physical Description: 32 prints: black and white woodcuts; various sizes, mounted to 12 1/2 x 19 in.

Scope and Contents

Partial set of signed and annotated trial proofs (32 of a set of 37) by Charles Ricketts and Charles Shannon for Vale Publications' edition of the George Thornley translation (1657) of Daphnis & Chloe. Includes proofs of plates 1-4, 6-25, 28-33, 36-37. Accession #'s: MS.1965.003-plates 1, 2, 4, 10-13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 28, 31, 37; MS.1968.009-plates 7, 14, 17, 22, 25, 32; MS.1968.010-plates 3, 9, 19, 21, 23, 33; MS.1969.001-plates 6, 8, 24, 29, 30, 36
 

Posthumous miscellany Series 3. about 1940-1950

Box MS.1963.009 Bx 1, Folder 6

Guests at Daphnis & Chloe's Wedding Feast 194-?

Physical Description: 2 copies.

Scope and Contents

Keepsake printed by Harold Seeger and Albert Sperisen for members of the Roxburghe Club. Text printed below image taken from C.J. Holmes' Self & partners, explains that the illustration, from the Vale Press Daphnis and Chloe (London, 1893), is a portrait group featuring Ricketts, Holmes and five of their friends.