Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-1677)

The series of nine plates depicting muffs '...are justly the best loved and admired of all Hollar's prints, and they constitute his most original contribution to the history of printmaking. The closely laid and expertly bitten lines perfectly suggest the softness and warmth of fur, in which Hollar delighted. The delicacy and closeness of the lines is such that they wore quickly and could scarcely be retouched; consequently fine impressions of them are rare.' Richard Godfrey, Wenceslaus Hollar, A Bohemian Artist in England, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven (Ct.), 1995, No. 92 b, pp. 126-7.