The appearance of the Total Solar eclipse from Haradon hill May 11 1724

Date1724

Artist/Maker Elisha Kirkall (1681/82-1742)

Artist William Stukeley

MediumEtching with mezzotint and wood block printing

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1975-4

DescriptionLower margin reads: "Stuckeley del: / The appearance of the Total Solar eclipse from Haradon hill May 11. 1724. / E. Kirkall sculp"Label TextThis print depicts the solar eclipse from Haradon Hill on May 11, 1724. Three men and two horses appear in the foreground looking at the solar eclipse. The engraver, Elisha Kirkall invented a mode of producing prints in chiaroscuro by a mixture of etching a mezzotint with the assistance of wooden blocks. Dr. William Stukeley travelled the country in the 1720s recording antiquities and curiosities in rough sketches that were engraved for him by Elisha Kirkall.ProvenanceBefore 1975, Bookpress, Ltd. (Williamsburg, VA); 1975-present, purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).