King James and his Jeweller George Heriot.

William Morrison after Alexander Chisholm
King James and his Jeweller George Heriot.
London, M. Parkes June 1st 1838
Mixed method mezzotint, open letter proof
625x510mm
Misc marginal repairs
£150
A large mezzotint of a scene taken from one of the more obscure novels by Sir Walter Scott The Fortunes of Nigel, first published in May 1822. King James I/VI sits in his untidy cabinet laughing heartily at George Heriot, his court banker and jeweller and godfather of Nigel Olifaunt’s sweetheart Margaret Ramsay. The novel concerns the efforts of Nigel Olifaunt, Lord Glenvarloch, to prevent the sale of his ancestral castle and estates. In order to do so, he travels to London to reclaim a large sum of money lent to King James I /VI by his father. As the royal favourite, the Duke of Buckingham, desires the land, the King is reluctant to comply with Nigel’s request &c. &c.