The first snow this year fell in Oxford last night!
Douce’s winter print collection has everything one may need to make the most of this season. From how to travel in style…
After Peter Rollos I, A couple on a sleigh, c. 1680, etching (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford)
… to what to wear to enjoy winter sports:
Romeyn de Hooghe, Skater playing kolf, c. 1682-1702, etching (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford)
And how to have fun in an ice rink:
Frans Huys after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Skaters before St George's Gate in Antwerp (detail), 1625-70, engraving (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford)
The impression of this print after Bruegel owned by Douce bears an inscription in Latin, French, and Dutch that refers to the ‘slipperiness of human existence’, which lends some gravity to this humorous image of everyday life.