Known as “the father of British sporting painting”, Francis Barlow was one of the most prolific illustrators and printmakers of the seventeenth century, as well as Britain’s first wildlife painter and the creator of one of the earliest comics, ‘A True Narrative of the Horrid Hellish Popish Plot’ (1682). Barlow was particularly well-respected for his intricate paintings of British wildlife, 12 of which were published in print form in 1671, etched by Wenceslaus Hollar.

This collection was entitled ‘Seuerall Wayes of Hunting, Hawking, and Fishing, According to the English Manner’, with each plates showing a variation on a hunting scene. These generally involve groups of men in the English countryside in the attempt to capture a range of native animals, from deer to fish to rabbits. Some show hunts taking place on horseback, others rather more peaceful fishing scenes. Each has four lines of verse beneath the image, such as:

“The princely Stagge yt rangeth through the woods,
Coasting the Countrey crossing Rivers, Flouds;
By fullmouth’d Hounds pursuesd, there yeelds his breath
The Noble traine comes in & winds his Death.”