James Pollard, 1792–1867, British, The Last of the Mail Coaches at Newcastle upon Tyne, 1848
- Title:
The Last of the Mail Coaches at Newcastle upon Tyne
- Former Title(s):
`The Last of the Mail Coaches': the Edinburgh-London Royal Mail at Newcastle upon Tyne, 5 July 1847
- Date:
- 1848
- Medium:
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions:
- Support (PTG): 18 x 27 inches (45.7 x 68.6 cm)
- Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:
Signed and dated in brown paint, lower left: "J. Pollard | 1848"
- Credit Line:
- Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
- Copyright Status:
- Public Domain
- Accession Number:
- B2001.2.281
- Classification:
- Paintings
- Collection:
- Paintings and Sculpture
- Link to Frame:
- B2001.2.281FR
- Subject Terms:
- bridle | carriage | coach | costume | flag | harness | historical subject | horses (animals) | industry | quirt | reins | reins | smoke | street lights | transport | Victorian
- Associated Places:
- England | Europe | Newcastle | Newcastle upon Tyne | United Kingdom
- Access:
- Not on view
- Link:
- https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:42445
- Export:
- XML
Pollard shows the arrival of the Edinburgh-London Royal Mail coach in Newcastle for the last time on 5 July 1847, having been superseded by the railroad. To mark the sad occasion the coachman and guard wore black mourning bands in their hats and flew the Union flag at half mast, surmounted by a banner of black crêpe. "It was impossible to record the death of the mail coach without regret," reported the Newcastle Journal, "for it really was a noble establishment, and not many years ago was looked upon as one of the glories of the country, of which the public had just cause to be proud. But, it is gone, after a reign of not more than sixty-one years . . . The horses of the various contractors of the line are announced for sale by auction." Pollard painted the scene for his friend and patron Edward Macnamara, who at this time was the sole contractor for the distribution of the mail - by horse and cart - within London. Malcolm Warner Warner, Malcolm and John Baskett. The Paul Mellon Bequest: Treasures of a Lifetime. New Haven : Yale Center for British Art, 2001, p. 113
Painting in England 1700-1850, collection of Mr. & Mrs. Paul Mellon. , Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, 1963, p. 191 (v.1), no. 365, pl. 152, ND466 V57 v.1-2 (YCBA)
Sotheby's sale catalogue : Fine paintings and drawings of the English school :19 April 1961, Sotheby's, London, April 19, 1961, p. 43, lot 172, Auction Catalogue (YCBA)
Malcolm Warner, The Paul Mellon Bequest : treasures of a lifetime, , Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, 2001, p. 113, N5247 M385 P28 2001 (YCBA)
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