趙之琛（1781-1852）刻《朱芬校讀》田黃印

這是清代著名篆刻家趙之琛為藏書家朱芬專門刻治的一枚自用印。趙氏，錢塘人（浙江杭州），生於乾隆四十六年，卒於咸豐二年；一生精書法繪畫、金石篆刻；尤以治印上承秦漢端莊流動之格，下啟西泠古茂淳樸之風而為世所重，當浙派篆刻領軍人物。朱芬為浙江海寧著名文人，擅詩文，藏書頗富；明末清初重要學者張履祥（1611-1674）的著述就是他收集整理，於嘉慶二十一年（1816）刊行的。趙之琛還曾替他刻過另一方《臣芬印》。

此印邊款：次閒仿漢；另印上端有舊款：龍石，為當時的另一位篆刻家楊澥（生1781）的號。楊氏也是嘉道年間的有名篆刻家，風格糅合了浙派和吳派的特點。此印舊印文恐磨去。

There are visible stone inclusions and one chip of about ¼ in. on one of the corners and tiny chips along the edges.
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Cixian is the studio name of the famous artist and seal carver Zhao Zhichen (1781-1852). Zhao was a native of Qiantang (today's Hangzhou), the leader of the Zhe School carving tradition.  The seal was made for another known scholar Zhu Fen, from Haining, who was a collector of books and a publisher.   

A different signature is found on the top side of the seal: Long Shi, which is the studio name of another contemporary seal carver Yang Xie (born 1781). It may suggest that the earlier inscription by Yang was erased and the stone was reused for the current inscription.