Flower Watercolor with English Manuscript Poem Dated 1831

An album leaf of pink paper with a poem in English in manuscript, signed with initials and dated 12 December 1831, and a small original watercolor of flowers - pansies, rosebuds and fuchsias - laid down below the text on a card cut to an octagonal outline.

The poem is a disenchanted reflection on marriage: it asks whether beneath the sweetness of trusting love there lurk "a blighted hope, a perjured friend, a broken heart", and concludes that all human things are vanity. Pieces like this come from English friendship albums, much in vogue in the first half of the 19th century.

Medium: Watercolor on paper and manuscript in ink
Date: 12 December 1831
Dimensions: Watercolor 4.3 x 3.2 in (11 x 8.2 cm); sheet 7.1 x 8.8 in (18 x 22.4 cm)
Condition: A crease and small tears in the left margin, with light staining along the upper edge. The watercolor itself is intact and very fresh in color