# - Danford, Charles George.

Folio (545 x 360mm.), 377 watercolours, 4 oil paintings, 11 pen and ink sketches, most signed with initials, a few dated, and 15 etchings and engravings, all mounted on card, various sizes, mostly two or three to a sheet, recto and verso, nearly all captioned on the mount in black ink or pencil, paper guards throughout, contemporary green half morocco gilt, binding slightly worn

 

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

an impressive collection of watercolours of turkey, greece, the balkans, the coast of dalmatia and istria, the black sea, transylvania and the danube, including: Trieste, Syros, Adrianople, Ephesus, Hierapolis, Adana, Domatea, Athens, Zante, Corinth, Corfu, Brindisi, Chios, Varna, Constantinople, Tenedos, Smyrna, Rhodes, Castello Rosso, Adalia, Tarsus, Gozna, Zebil, Anascha, the Bay of Naples, Angora, Osmanieh, Galatia and northern Mesopotamia.

Charles G. Danford (fl. 1870s-1890s), born in Scotland, was an accomplished artist, sportsman and ornithologist. He was elected as a  Fellow of the Zoological Society of London in 1874. In the 1870s Danford travelled extensively in the Near East. Some of these watercolours may have been painted on his travels with Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria (1858-1889), whose book, Jagden und Beobachtungen (Vienna, 1887) Danford translated into English as Notes on Sport and Ornithology (London, 1889).

George Maw dedicated his book "Monograph of the genus Crocus" (London, 1886) to Mr and Mrs Charles Danford, whose journeys he states "throughout the length and breadth of Asia Minor in the years 1876, 1878 and 1879, added much to the knowledge of Crocuses in that district. Many of the Vignettes appearing in the present book have been engraved from original sketches made by Mr Danford in the remote mountain region of the Taurus and other parts of Asia Minor, and to Mrs Danford I am indebted for the roots of several new species of Crocus discovered by her, and also for much valuable information respecting the habitats of Crocuses throughout Asia Minor." Crocus Danfordiae is illustrated on plate 63 and was discovered by Mrs Danford in 1879. A copy of Maw's book is included in this sale, lot 296.

For further information see: Cornucopia, issue 39, 2008, pp.90-99 "George Maw 1832-1912. Crockery and crocuses, the passions of a Victorian enthusiast." by Martyn and Alison Rix. We are grateful to John Scott for this information.