4 old archery prints---

[Rick Enos]

Just dug these old prints up.Just wondering if anyone has seen these before.No markings at all...

 
 
 
 

[seboomook]

Hmm, two different versions of William Tell.
Wasnt he Swiss? And the antagonist on the left a tax collecter?

[Rick Enos]

Not sure.Looks like a William Tell scene.I purchased these at an auction 10-15 years ago & forgot I had them.

[Blackhawk]

Yeah, looks like a Tell scene, but did he not use a crossbow?...as in the last scene?

BTW, was the William Tell story real?

[jester]

William Tell is the Swiss national hero, but he's almost certainly fictional. He's a symbol of the fight for independence against the Austrian (i. e. Habsburg) rule over the country.

An Habsburgian offficial hung his hat upon a tree for the Swiss to bow to it. WT refused to do so and was then forced to shoot an apple off his son's head. He did so and succeeded, but later killed the official in revenge.
That's the story made popular in German speaking countries by Friedrcih Schiller in the 18th century.

Those are some nice prints there, Rick!
I'd say the first two are early 18th century with a touch of fantasy in the costumes, the other two could be 19th century – but I'm no art historian, so I can't be sure …

[jester]

P. S.: The crossbow was more of a national Swiss weapnon than the bow, but WT is often depicted with a bow instead.