C. 1900 Ink, Inkwash, Pencil Drawing of Two Hunted Deer

This delicate ink and ink wash drawing of two hanging deer was done on the back of the title page of a 1898 copy of the The Strand Magazine, a British periodical  featuring short fiction and general interest articles. One wonders the drawing was inspired by a story inside, or whether the magazine was taken on a hunting trip for evening reading and the deer drawn from life. I find it quite elegiac, with fallen log on the ground amplifying a sense of loss, and the fading out of the armature from which the deer hang enhancing the cross-like tethering of limbs.

9 3/4" x 6 1/2". Overall good condition. The paper was clearly previously framed and adhered to a mat, with a bit of the mat stuck to the reverse and one small tear along the bottom edge. There is bit of staining along the top edge center. The paper has a little bit of a sheen. Signed at lower right.