Snaffles Signed Print "The Gent in Ratcatcher" Hand Coloured Blind Stamp 1922

Original hand coloured print titled: "The Gent in the Ratcatcher" by Charles "Snaffles" Johnson Payne (1884–1967). Subtitled "I have my man cleaning my osses, not my breeches". Snaffles blind stamp and signed in pencil. This print dates from 1922. There are two main versions of this print.

This picture has been professionally restored and is a great example of snaffles work. Restoration included cleaning, removing the acidic backing and mounting and framing behind museum grade glass. Although some minor defects remain, the colours are now beautifully sharp and clear

Charles "Snaffles" Johnson Payne (1884–1967) was an English painter best known for his humorous work but also for his outstanding draughtsmanship and depiction of the horse in action which some might say exceeds Lionel Edwards and Munnings. Snaffles specialised in water colours and drawings sold as prints which, at least initially, were hand coloured by the artist and his sisters. His subject matter was invariably military, racing or hunting / equestrian scenes (polo, pig sticking), or some combination of these. Many of his most famous pictures contrast or combine military life with the peacetime pursuits of racing and hunting.