Keith Bowen (UK, B. 1950) "The Butcher" Signed and dated lower right. Charcoal on Watercolor Paper. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the Great Britain 27p Food and Farming Year 1989 stamp issued March 7, 1989. Whether hunted, snared, or placidly procured from the many friendly butcher shops which dot the land, meat and poultry have ever formed the centerpiece to any proper British meal. And fish isn't far behind. The English love of a variety of meats and fish at their table surely reached its height during the opulent Victorian Era of the 1800s. This was the age when exotic foods from the British Empire were imported from around the globe. At a proper dinner party, a choice of soups was followed by at least two kinds of fish. Then two meats -- roast mutton and turkey, perhaps -- would serve as side courses to the entrees: cutlets, fillets, or satueed fillets; these in turn were a prelude to the roasts. A dab of sorbet and then the game course -- partridge, pheasant, duck, woodcock, venison. To someone not raised amid such fare, it could be overwhelming, especially since many of the nobility hunted and the procurement of the game could prove the meal's main topic of conversation. Image Size: 18 x 20.75 in. Overall Size: 20 x 28.5 in. Unframed. (B11932)