Portrait of Thomas Erskine and Thomas Paine, Albertina Museum

What it is

This is an album page held by the Albertina Museum in Austria. It shows two engraved portraits. The upper, smaller oval portrait is captioned 'The Hon. Thos. Erskine' and shows a man with curly hair and a cravat. The lower, larger engraving is captioned 'THOMAS PAINE' and shows a man in a dark coat and cravat holding a book. Its publication line reads 'London Published by W. Sharp'. The date of the page is not recorded in the facts available.

Why it matters

Paine and Thomas Erskine, a lawyer and politician, were both part of the public debates of the late eighteenth century in Britain. Placing their portraits together on one page suggests that collectors or publishers linked them. Because the date is unclear, the page cannot be firmly tied to a particular moment in their careers.

Look closer

• What details of clothing and pose do the two engravings share, and where do they differ?
• Why might someone have grouped these two men on one album page?
• What can we not tell from the page alone, such as the date or the artist?