Sotheby's (London), early August 1887, lot 850; purchased there by Fawcett; purchased from him by Dr John Percy (1817-1889), L.1504, 1887 (£3); Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition of drawings in watercolours by artists born anterior to 1800 and now deceased, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1871

Blunt, Anthony, Hand-list of the drawings in the Witt Collection, London, 1956
p. 35

William, Iolo A., Early English Watercolours, London: The Connoisseur, 1952

Long, B.S., 'John (Warwick) Smith' in 'Walker's Quarterly', 1927; 24
p. 4

Watermark: Watermarks: Recto (visible in raking light): left centre, lines of text difficult to make out but may be “HONIG / & / ZOON” or some variation; Countermark: right centre: again difficult to see, appears to be a goblet above a diagonal band. Artist’s Mount: Verso, left centre (visible in raking light): “P M” above a circle with a double border containing a fleur-de-lis, above “FABRIANO”. (Unable to find either mark in Heawood or Churchill).

Inscription: inscription : inscribed & dated & pen and ink : on the mount, lower right : in the same hand : Jacob More, Rome, 1784

Inscription: inscription : inscribed & pen and ink : verso : (cf Percy cat.) Near Naples. A view near the Calaldolese Lakes in the point of Pausilipos the island Nisida and the Lazaret.

Inscription: Verso (not visible as is laid down, but attested to in John Percy’s catalogue): ink: “Near Naples. A view near the Calaldolese Lakes in the point of Pausilipos the island Nisida and the Lazaret”. Atist’s Mount, Recto: lower centre margin, brown ink: “The Bay of Naples from Vesuvius”; lower right corner, brown ink, signed and dated by the artist (?): Jacob More 1784”; lower right margin and again at lower left corner, graphite, Witt number: “320”; also lower left corner, graphite: “S”; lower right corner, graphite: “1740-1793. Coll. Percy” written over something in graphite now erased, beginning “Lo[…]”. Artist’s Mount, Verso: upper centre, brown ink, artist's hand (?): “Naples / A View taken from Mount Vesuvius near the Lava this View takes in the Bay of Naples, the Islands of Ischia, Cape Misenum / and the Bay of Puzzoli”; right centre, graphite: “22647”.

Collector's mark: Artist's Mount, Recto: lower right margin, stamped in black ink: John Percy (L.1504).