eggotinters 
 
 of the i8th ^ igth 
 Century ^ 
 
 3^y/t(ft^f/^^ ^ 

 
 LaUp Caroline ]price 
 
 Sir Joshua Reynolds, Ptr. 
 John Jones, Esq.
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES OF 
 
 XVIII &' XIX CENTURY 
 MEZZOTINTERS 
 
 NOT MENTIONED IN OUR 
 TWO PREVIOUS BROCHURES 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 M. Knoedler & Co. 
 
 FIFTH AVENUE AT THIRTY-FOURTH ST. 
 
 1905
 
 PUBLISHED AND COPYRIGHTED 
 BY 
 
 ;p. fenoeUIcr Si €o, 
 
 355 FIFTH AVE., N. Y. 
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 One of the most distinguished of English 
 writers on the subject, Alfred Whitman, saj^s: 
 " Fine mezzotints appeal to the least cultivated 
 mind, while to the student and art amateur 
 they are a never-ending source of fascination 
 and delight." 
 
 In the previous pamphlets due consideration 
 of a number of fine engravers was foregone, the 
 object of these preliminary studies being, as 
 stated, to call attention to only the greatest 
 men in the profession. In order, therefore, to 
 treat the subject more comprehensively and 
 completely there are now added brief accounts 
 of a number of good scrapers, some of them 
 far above the average, who extend the field 
 surveyed well into the nineteenth century. 
 
 The fine old mezzotints made upon copper 
 showed signs of wear after twenty or thirty 
 impressions had been taken from a plate. This 
 accounts for the great scarcity and value of 
 fine prints. At the present day it is the cus- 
 tom to " steel face " the copperplates by means
 
 of an electrolytic process, whereby they are 
 enabled to yield a great number of fine impres- 
 sions. 
 
 The old mezzotints being upon copper the 
 grounding was much more tender and velvety 
 than when the plates from which they were 
 produced were of steel. Mezzotinting upon 
 this metal was introduced by William Say in 
 1820, his first subject being the portrait of 
 Queen Caroline, from which plate 1200 impres- 
 sions were taken. There is noticeable in prints 
 taken from steel plates a certain hardness 
 which does not appear in impressions from 
 copper plates. 
 
 Richard Tompson and Alexander Browne 
 Kitbarll flourished about 1690. It is uncertain whether 
 STontDBOn they engraved or scraped. It is known that at 
 3^irtJ 1693^^^^*- they published fifty or more plates bear- 
 ing the inscription " Tompson excudit." They 
 were the first to issue " Counter Proofs." A 
 SdcirantlCt Counter Proof is a reverse impression, printed 
 iSrOlDnc from a proof on paper subjected to great press- 
 ure while it is still wet and heavily charged 
 with ink. Thompson engraved the portrait of 
 Nell Gwynne and her two sons.
 
 The years which include his most notable 
 works are those from 1680-1700. His skilful 
 rendering of details \vas most distinguished and 10 
 
 showed that he understood the capabilities of 
 his art. He scraped a number of portraits after 
 Lely, Kneller, Dahl, Wissing, and Van Dyck. 
 
 l^tlliamfi; 
 
 The last of the mezzotint artists of the sev- 
 enteenth century was Robert White, who did KofaCft 
 his best work between 1680-1683. He was con- W^itC 
 sidered a better line engraver than scraper. 1 645=1 70 4 
 He, however, showed considerable talent in 
 his mezzotint portraits. 
 
 He was the son of Robert White and pro- 
 duced work of no small importance between 
 1714 and 1731. Before devoting his time to 
 mezzotint work he took up portrait painting 
 and line engraving. He it was to whom was (^eovvt 
 given the credit of etching the subject before ^hitc 
 grounding, a method followed by Richard Ear- |gyj, 1734. 
 lorn and others. He also used the graver for ^Jbottt 
 adding the black spot in the eyes. He did not 
 produce m.any portraits. The notable position 
 he holds in the art was due to his introduction 
 of this preliminary etching the subject before 
 anything else was done.
 
 Eldest son of t!ie famous line engraver. He 
 
 was a mezzotint scraper of distinction, and if 
 
 William ^^ ^^^ "°^ fallen into dissipated habits would 
 
 ^aithhnrnt ^^'^^^ attained more of the quality of his most 
 
 --- ^ I ^^. notable contemporaries. He engraved about 
 
 fifty portraits, besides allegorical and other 
 
 subjects. 
 
 This engraver, the rival of John Smith, was 
 of Hugenot descent, and came to England in 
 the early part of the eighteenth century. He 
 practised line engraving in Paris, but gave it 
 up after reaching London, where he devoted 
 his entire time to mezzotint, becoming a mas- 
 ter of the art in a short time. His skill was so 
 great that he was selected by Sir Godfrey 
 3^01)11 Kneller after the latter's falling out with John 
 ^imon Smith, and engraved over forty of his por- 
 1675=1751 traits besides many from Dahl, Murray, and 
 9lbOUt Gibson. He did not confine himself to por- 
 traits, though of these he executed nearly 200, 
 but engraved many Biblical and fancy subjects. 
 He was greatly influenced by John Smith, but 
 was not up to his level in drawing and arrange- 
 ment of details; but nevertheless when at his 
 best his plates were excellent.
 
 As did his father he engraved several series 
 of plates. These included twelve Hampton 
 Court Beauties, five Philosophers of England, 
 ten Sovereigns of England, and forty-three 
 Kit-Cat Club. It may be of interest to know- 
 that this last named club comprised forty-eight 
 members who met at a tavern in Shire Lane, 
 off Fleet Street, in London, called the " Cat 
 and Fiddle," and kept by one Christopher Cat. 
 The club also held meetings at Barn Elms, at 
 the house of Jacob Jonson, who built a room 
 for their purposes. He commissioned Sir God- 
 frey Kneller to paint portraits of the members, 
 having them made of uniform size to fit the 
 spaces arranged for them. This size (36x28 3)^0 j)ll 
 inches) afterwards became known as " Kit-jfabcr, ^V, 
 Cat," which allowed of a portrait a little over 1684=1756 
 half-length. The twelve Hampton Court Beau- 
 ties were all full-length in their original state, 
 but were afterwards cut down to three-quarter 
 length and retouched by Faber. (He was 
 noted for this practice.) He produced some 
 500 plates. He was a careful and finished 
 worker, but was at his best in the later years 
 of his life when he showed a brilliancy that 
 compares favorably with the best work of his 
 time.
 
 In was in 1727 that Peter Pelh,am engraved 
 
 the portrait of Rev. Cotton Mather, the first 
 
 mezzotint executed in America. Before leav- 
 
 Dctcr ^"^ England, the j^ear previous, he engraved 
 
 Tklliam ^"^ published a number of plates. He married 
 
 1634=1733^^ his second wife the mother of John Single- 
 
 iiSlbOUt *°" Copley, teaching him the first beginnings 
 
 of his art. Pelham's mezzotint work is darker 
 
 than usual, owing to his heavy handling of the 
 
 rocker. 
 
 The foregoing mezzotint scrapers are among 
 
 the first period, towards the end of which 
 
 mezzotint engraving was falling into decay. 
 
 There were very few good workers, none to 
 
 Cbomas ^o"^?^''^ with those at the end of the seven- 
 
 ■ScarU teenth century. The real turning-point for 
 
 jFlOUrtShci ^^^ great period took place in Dublin when 
 
 in I'^'^S Thomas Beard, whom many think was born 
 
 in England, was the first exponent, having 
 
 engraved the first mezzotint in Ireland. His 
 
 works are not numerous, but his name deserves 
 
 to be remembered as the first man to produce 
 
 a mezzotint in the Emerald Isle. He probably 
 
 learned to scrape from John Brooks, who was 
 
 ^tnlirfto mentioned in a previous pamphlet. 
 
 i'flillfr Andrew Miller, Ireland, was a pupil of Faber, 
 
 1750 ■^^■' commencing work in 1737, continuing in
 
 Ireland until 1743 with success, producing up- 
 wards of sixty plates which are rarely offered 
 for sale. ( 
 
 These three men. Brooks, Beard, and Miller, 
 were the men who revived the art and the 
 pioneers of the greatest period of the eight- 
 eenth century. To Brooks especially should 
 be given credit for establishing a school which 
 numbered among its pupils some of the most 
 illustrious engravers. 
 
 Most of the pupils of Brooks were intemper- 
 ate, so that although they all showed evidence 
 of unusual ability they did not, owing to their 
 vicious habits, arrive at the point they should 
 have reached. 
 
 anUretD 
 fSlUltv 
 continurti) 
 
 —1760 
 
 Produced a few plates in Dublin, which, like 
 those of Purcell's, are very rare. His work 
 was not of great importance, owing to intem- 
 perance. He died when about forty years old, 
 having produced about fifty plates. He was 
 much attached to McArdell, asking that he 
 might be buried beside him, a request which 
 was granted in December, 1767. 
 
 Ford did not move to England as most of 
 his fellow-pupils did, but remained in Dublin, 
 succeeding eventually to Brooks' business. His 
 
 
 Jlticbacl 
 forU, 
 
 9
 
 mezzotints are very scarce. It is supposed 
 
 Michael ^'^'^'- '^^ ^^'^^ drowned when the " Dublin 
 
 jForlJ Trader," which left Parkgate for Dublin Oc- 
 
 (contilXUCj) tober 28, 1758, presumably founded, as neither 
 
 the vessel nor he was ever heard of afterwards. 
 
 KicbarU 
 
 |)ottB;ton, 
 
 1721 = 1775 
 
 Houston was a man of great ability, a fel- 
 low-pupil with McArdell under Brooks, with 
 whom he came to London. There seems to 
 ~^ be good reason to believe that as has been 
 
 ^^^ , ^iy^suggested he might have excelled his fellow- 
 pupil, McArdell, had his habits been more tem- 
 perate. His execution was strong and bold, 
 also tender and delicate as required. He 
 scraped over 160 plates. 
 
 He scraped a small number of plates be- 
 tween 1748 and 1755, which are now very rare. 
 Ktcl^atl] Like Houston, he contracted vicious habits, 
 MorCEll, which led him into financial difficulties. He 
 1736=1765 Migraved a great many copies for the publisher 
 Sayer, on some of which the names of Charles 
 or Phillip Corbutt appear; while others are 
 without the name of any engraver. These 
 plates are often well done — as copies. His 
 original work shows evidence of what would 
 
 10
 
 have been his ultimate success had he not fallen ISicI)atU 
 into bad habits. He engraved upwards of lOO purtfll 
 plates. 1736-1765 
 
 Of Michael Jackson, Ireland, little is known, (cOTltinUCll) 
 he having scraped but a few plates, the most 
 memorable of which were " Nancy Dawson " 
 and " Peg Woffington." He is supposed to J|^itl)ael 
 have been an Irishman and companion of ^jtl^gon 
 Houston, Spruce, and Purcell. 
 
 Was in early life employed by a hatter, and 
 is supposed to have learned the scrapers' art ©^toatfl 
 from McArdell. He did some very fine work, ^ tfiytr 
 in style resembling McArdell. The plate^730a785 
 which is considered his finest achievement is 
 " Hope Nursing Love," after Reynolds, a work 
 which compares favorably with any mezzotint. 
 He scraped some seventy to eighty plates, his 
 principal work being done from 1758-1781. 
 
 He was originally a silver plate engraver. Af- 
 terwards he took up mezzotinting, establishing '^nhn 
 himself as a fine scraper in London when about zHirnn 
 twenty-five years old. He engraved some large a^pfnrp 
 important plates in 1773. When he was about 1 740,1780 
 thirty-five years old — he was a fine looking man 
 — he married an heiress, and gave up to a large 
 extent the practise of scraping to only making 
 
 11
 
 a plate now and then as a pastime. His touch 
 was delicate and refined, or bold and strong. 
 A number of his works are much sought after, 
 « L notably Miss Emma and Elizabeth Crewe, 
 
 5)irnn ^^^^^ Reynolds, and Miss Davidson. Of the 
 1740 ITSo''^^^^'^ there are only a few to be found, for the 
 ^continucll^ subject having met with an untimeely death, 
 the family had the plate and as many impres- 
 sions as they could obtain, destroyed. 
 
 Was an engraver of a most distinctive char- 
 acter. His works were nearly all done in the 
 last two years of his life. He did not devote 
 his lifetime to scraping, but worked upon can- 
 vas, painting a number of notable portraits. 
 He also devoted a considerable part of his time 
 to the making of china, for which he gained a 
 jrfpf, great reputation. The undertaking was not 
 I7l0-17o2prosperous, partly owing to the heavy tax 
 upon the clay, which was brought from South 
 Carolina, and partly to the fact that the glaz- 
 ing was not a success. The work turned out, 
 however, vv^as elegant in design and decoration, 
 all of which was due to Frye. From the ruins 
 of the factory arose those of Chelsea and Wor- 
 cester. He ruined his health working over the 
 furnaces for fifteen years, and was obliged to 
 give it up, removing to Wales for his health 
 
 12 
 
 Qrt)oma£i
 
 where he painted portraits to pay expenses. 
 Returning after a year to London he took up 
 scraping again and did his most notable work, 
 producing a series of eighteen life-size heads 
 of men and women, of many of which the sub- ^yOmaS 
 ject is unknown. Frye when unable to obtain a J'^?^ 
 sitting from some notable personage was ac- '^ 
 
 customed to make a sketch in the theatre. He ^f^'^ttnurB) 
 became so well known that when any one was 
 conscious of being sketched by him he or she 
 would take a position to enable him to work 
 more readily. Queen Charlotte was one of 
 the notables to do so. These sketches, trans- 
 lated by him into mezzotints, are of great 
 beauty and most difficult to procure. The 
 family of the late Lady Charlotte Schreiber 
 have in their possession one of the finest com- 
 plete sets. Frye died in his fifty-second year 
 of consumption, the disease being contracted 
 by dieting for corpulency and gout. Two years 
 after his death the following appeared in " The 
 Gentleman's Magazine": "No one was more 
 happy in delineating the human countenance. 
 He had the correctness of Van Dyck and the 
 coloring of Rubens. In miniature painting he 
 equalled if not excelled the famous Cooper." 
 
 13
 
 This artist was one who marks the com- 
 mencement of the great period. He lived from 
 about 1730 to 1776, and did his best work dur- 
 ing the last ten years of his life. Many of his 
 plates are large and show considerable knowl- 
 edge. They must, however, be seen at a dis- 
 tance to be fully appreciated. He engraved 
 3fol)n about thirty plates and gained two premiums 
 .f inlapson ^^ the Society of Arts and was a member of 
 17304 776 '^he Free Society of Artists. His work was 
 9tbOUt varied in its excellence, some plates being very 
 good, others exceedingly poor. The ground- 
 ing of his plates indicates different handling 
 or methods which may be accounted for by 
 the fact that many engravers employed their 
 pupils to do this work. Very little is known 
 of his life. 
 
 Watts 
 
 1—1 
 
 A publisher, line engraver and scraper of a few 
 plates of considerable merit. Watts flourished from 
 1770 to 1786. His portrait of Joseph Baretti, 
 an Italian, after Reynolds, attracts more at- 
 tention than any other, not only from the fact 
 of its being one of his best plates, but because 
 the subject was a great friend of Dr. Johnson 
 and was one of the principals in a brawl in the 
 Haymarket in which a man was stabbed. Ba- 
 
 li
 
 retti was tried for the murder, but acquitted, 
 on the ground of self-defence. He was ap- 
 pointed Secretary for Foreign Correspondence 'TtnUn 
 to the Royal Academy. He was teacher of ^att« 
 Italian and an author. About the life of the /,^„4.;«^.>.\ 
 engraver very little information is obtainable. 
 
 The most noted scraper of candlelight sub- 
 jects, although he was a master of portraiture 
 as well. His greatest plates are after Rem- 
 brandt and Wright of Derby. The latter's 
 works are principally candlelighted pictures, 
 and Pether rendered them with astonishing 
 ability in black and white. Pether was a rest- 
 less man who was not satisfied to remain in l^illtani 
 one place, frequently changing his residence Pctl)Cr 
 from London to the provinces and back again. 1738--1821 
 Unfortunately, he outlived his popularity, mak- 
 ing but few plates in the last years of his life, 
 but devoting his time to teaching, drawing, and 
 cleaning pictures. He was over eighty years 
 old when he died. 
 
 Was a protege of Sir Joshua Reynolds, who 
 
 brought him from Italy when he was but fif- ®UtSSfpe 
 teen years old, and made him his assistant to i"arC0l 
 
 help him in his less important work, paying i74-7--l808 
 
 15
 
 him a small sum for his services of six months. 
 Some time after he took up mezzotinting and 
 for ten or twelve years produced a few^ plates 
 which displayed great skill. Sir Joshua was of 
 great assistance to him. Although his work 
 was brilliant and brought him fame it lacked 
 individuality. Living as he did during the 
 ^ntfiirppe period of the greatest scrapers, his style was 
 ilHarcI)i not distinctive enough to be separated from 
 (COntinUfU)them. He found, after Reynolds' death, that 
 the occupation of cleaner and restorer of his 
 master's pictures was an occupation much more 
 lucrative and so devoted himself to it. Prob- 
 ably his greatest work is Miss Cholmondeley 
 carrying a dog across a brook. 
 
 Was in his zenith about 1780. He engraved 
 
 1i}I)tItp a number of candlelight pictures after his mas- 
 
 ^atDE ter, George Henry Morland. He worked also un- 
 
 ^itlJ ITSOder Hogarth. His work was full of merit, being 
 
 ^bout very carefully finished, but having a certain 
 
 hardness. 
 
 1730-1795 There were two brothers, John and Jona- 
 
 ajljj than. Jonathan was a map drafter and orna- 
 
 2ronatl)ail ment engraver, while John kept a print shop 
 
 S^pilsbntp 'ifd published a number of Jonathan's mezzo- 
 
 16
 
 tints, which were simply signed " J. Spilsbury, 
 
 Fecit." This fact has led to a confusion which 
 
 prevented the separation of the two brothers, 
 
 making the history of Jonathan most difficult 
 
 to detetrmine. So little is positively known 
 
 that the dates of his birth and death have never 'jJOQH 
 
 been satisfactorily settled. It is known, how-^* 30-1795 
 
 ever, that his last contribution to the exhibi- ^^'^ 
 
 tion of the British Institution was in 1807. His ilo|)atOan 
 
 most commendable work was the portrait of ^P"^''**'^P» 
 
 Miss Jacobs, after Reynolds, for which the So-C^^*^*"^^^^) 
 
 ciety of Arts awarded him a premium. One • • 
 
 authority states that Jonathan Spilsbury was 
 
 a portrait painter. He produced some fifty 
 
 plates during thirty years. 
 
 Was a young man when he commenced his 
 career as a scraper, for he gained a Society of 
 Arts premium when he was only twenty-one 
 years old. James Watson, his partner and William 
 senior by three years, of whom we have pre- ^ icttinSOn, 
 viously made mention, was an artist of very 1740 -.1823 
 much the same style as Dickinson. Their com- 
 bining together in the publishing business 
 was considered a very fortunate circumstance. 
 
 17
 
 In their work they closely resembled one an- 
 other, which resulted to their mutual advan- 
 tage. Dickinson scraped about lOO plates, 
 William ^^^ ^ highly accomplished craftsman and 
 7ni,<.;«-.~« worked with great delicacy of finish. Most 
 /'.~«♦;„^.^■>.^OI his work was portraiture. He made a large 
 Opiate showing George III. seated in his coro- 
 nation chair. The head was altered to look 
 older some years afterwards. 
 
 In style he resembled Earlom, although he 
 is believed to have been a pupil of Pether. 
 His work is considered good, his great fault 
 being in drawing, in which he was notice- 
 ably deficient. Living as he did at the time 
 when the greatest masters were exhibiting their 
 Holltrt works he loses much by comparison. Never- 
 ^unfearton theless he produced some admirable plates, 
 l744-lSl7working industriously from 1770 to 181 1. One 
 ^bont of his best portraits was that of Mrs. Horneck, 
 after Reynolds. He commenced his career as 
 a portrait painter, but did not continue after 
 1779. It is believed that he died before 1817, 
 as his name is not mentioned in an art publi- 
 cation of that date. He engraved many book 
 illustrations. 
 
 18
 
 Sir Joshua Reynolds, Ptr. 
 
 Samuel Cousins, Esq.
 
 Was both a stipple and a mezzotint en- 
 graver. His list of portraits in mezzotint num- 
 bers thirteen, but he made a number of animal 
 subjects. His most important being a 
 " Tyger," after Northcote, and a " Tigress," 
 after Stubbs. These are uncommonly fine. 
 The date of his death is unknown. He was 
 still living in 1820. His greatest period was 
 between 17S0 until the first few years of the 
 nineteenth century. 
 
 1748-1800 
 
 about 
 
 In the early stage of his life Townley prac- 
 ticed the painting of portraits upon ivory. He 
 studied in Italy and Germany and made a num- 
 ber of plates in Berlin, among them being C-yarlCfi 
 Frederick II. of Prussia, Prince Frederick with QlOiunlrp 
 Frantzein, Catherine II., of Russia, Count Orloff. 1746-1 800 
 Some of his plates are dated 1800. He probably slbOUt 
 died in the early part of the nineteenth century. 
 The work of this artist was quite ordinary. 
 Probably his best plate was that of Sir Joshua 
 Reynolds, with hat and academic gown, done 
 under the eye of Sir Joshua. 
 
 19
 
 Was the son of a sea captain. At an early- 
 age he became a pupil of the eminent engraver, 
 Valentine Green, from whom he acquired a 
 great knowledge of the art. He worked upon 
 a number of portraits in England until 1784, 
 when he went to Russia, having been selected 
 as engraver to Her Imperial Majesty, Empress 
 Catherine. Here he remained for seventeen 
 years. There is a marked difference in those 
 plates done in England, owing, it is surmised, 
 2faint8i to the difference of the metal, Russian copper 
 W&lktV being much the harder. The English plates 
 17484808 are considered the finer. Walker's technical 
 skill was great. There are not many of his 
 Russian plates in existence, they having been 
 lost at sea while en route for England, owing 
 to the wreck of the ship in which they were 
 being carried. Probably the best Russian plate 
 was after Rembrandt's " Old Woman and a 
 Boy Reading." 
 
 Probably one of the most delicate of the 
 
 mezzotint scrapers. Many of his productions 
 
 appear weak and worn. He, however, stood 
 
 jiopn a-^canhigh and was much sought after and selected 
 
 I750=l798to engrave many of the children painted by 
 
 Sir Joshua. His work must be closely and 
 
 20
 
 carefully examined to be fully appreciated. 
 One will find in it the touch of a delicate and 
 refined hand. His style is quite individual. He 
 was a pupil of Valentine Green. John Dean_^ _ 
 
 and James Walker were most successful in-^ t -n 
 rendering the works of George Romnej'. ^ ) 
 
 Many of Dean's plates and prints were de- 
 stroyed by fire in 1889. The plates which best 
 illustrated his style are " Cupid as a Link Boy," 
 and " Alercury as a Pickpocket," painted by 
 Reynolds and engraved in 1777. 
 
 Started his career as a pupil of Sir Joshua 
 Reynolds, remaining with him about three 
 years. Not being successful in painting por- 
 traits he turned his attention to mezzotint 
 engraving, in which he did some good work. 
 His plates are nearly all dated 1779, and of ^iUtain 
 six portraits mentioned by Chaloner Smith ^onffI)tp 
 
 four were after his master, Sir Joshua, one by 
 Gardiner, and one portrait of himself, possibly 
 by himself. In 1780 he left England for Ben- 
 gal. The ship was captured and put into Lis- 
 bon, where he died. One of his best works is 
 the portrait of William Mason, after Reynolds. 
 
 7—1872 
 
 21
 
 Produced but few plates, devoting most of 
 
 Cbtillias '"^ ^'"^^ ^^ literary pursuits, in which he be- 
 
 Darfe came very distinguished. His most important 
 
 I7604S35 work was the portrait after Reynolds of John 
 
 Thomas, Bishop of Rochester, in robes. Very 
 
 fine. 
 
 feenrp' 
 l^utiison. 
 
 I7504S17 
 
 Was not distinguished, having done about a 
 dozen portraits, which showed iinish and great 
 comprehension of the art. His works range 
 from 1782 to 1793. 
 
 Was a nephew of the celebrated Alderman 
 John Boydell, to whose business he was ad- 
 mitted as a partner, and upon the death of his 
 uncle was elected alderman in his place. He 
 was a pupil of Richard Earlom, and displayed 
 considerable talent. There are five portraits 
 catalogued by him. He also executed a num- 
 ber of subject pieces. He was a devotee of 
 art, and painted a number of pictures, some of 
 which have been engraved. 
 
 Pupil of John Dixon. He executed a few 
 
 QTIjOmafii portraits in mezzotint, but devoted his time to 
 
 •^Stirfet, the chalk method, producing a number of 
 
 17494815 works after Angelica Kauffman, with whom he 
 
 was a special favorite. 
 
 22
 
 Was a nephew and pupil of Sir Thomas 
 Gainsborough. It was not, however, by the 
 portraits he painted that he gained a reputa- 
 tion, for they were not of the highest class. , 
 He succeeded much better in his scraping, *^3lll0l)Or= 
 particularly so in his productions after his^^^" ^^' 
 
 uncle's paintings. They were nearly fac-sim- ^ 
 
 1767 1707 
 iles of them in black and white, the master's *'^'-*^'^' 
 
 distinguishing characteristics being all repro- 
 duced. If Dupont had lived longer we might 
 have had more graceful and elegant full-length 
 portraits after Gainsborough to place beside 
 those of Reynolds. 
 
 An engraver whose work did not stand out 
 prominently among those of the great masters, Jl'^^fPO 
 nevertheless he attained a notable position, ^^O^CV 
 and would have been considered greater had^""^*^ 1755 
 his work not suffered by being brought into'*'^^^'-^ 1799 
 contact with that of the very highest class. 
 He possessed many pleasing qualities. 
 
 He is supposed to have been a pupil of J. R(C,harIcS E). 
 Smith. He left England in 1794 for Amster- l)otj^e0 
 dam. His best works were done previously to I7644S37 
 this date — 1784-89. Frequently in the ground- 
 ing of his plates his work was so coarse as to 
 
 23
 
 produce the effect of stipple. He scraped about 
 thirty-eight portraits, one, the well-known sub- 
 ject of "The Guardian Angels," after Reynolds, 
 
 0''harlr« T^ ^"*' ^^'^ finest work was that after his own por- 
 IhnTitrrs trait of Rutger Hans Schmmelpenninck, for he 
 
 rrnnttntirti^^^'^^ '^ painter also. He was a clever workman, 
 having the faculty of reproducing the spirit 
 of the original. For all his talent he was not 
 financially successful, and after getting into 
 difficulties he left England and turned his at- 
 tention to collecting prints and plates for print 
 sellers in England. He died in Amsterdam in 
 1837. 
 
 Was a pupil of J. R. Smith and succeeded 
 him in business. He was a man of many good 
 qualities and a good scraper, although there 
 .-J- . was a feeling of heaviness in his work. He 
 
 ?9nnnrr I'^ed at a time when it was the fashion to 
 iJCn 109- engrave scenes from the popular plays. Prob- 
 ably his best plate represents a prizefight be- 
 tween Broughton and Stevenson. He was ap- 
 pointed engraver in mezzotint to the Prince 
 of Wales in 1789, Keeper to the British Insti- 
 tution about 1813, and was Honorary Secre- 
 tary to the Artists' Benevolent Fund. After 
 1820 he made a series of outline engravings 
 from the pictures in some of the celebrated 
 galleries. 
 
 2-i
 
 Was particularly an engraver of animal sub- 
 jects, fights between horses and bulls, and so 0coxat 
 forth, from his father's paintings. He did not ^o^unlCP 
 do many, but those he did were well done. S^tubbS 
 
 1756-1815 
 
 Showed talent at the early age of sixteen, 
 
 having then scraped two large plates which 
 
 were surprisingly good for one so young. He 
 
 was taught the art from his father, Philip, but ^tOV^t 
 
 did not continue long in it, prefering the paint- -UanJf 
 
 ing of portraits. From the work he has 1/81-1829 
 
 left behind, one could easily believe that he 
 
 might have become a scraper of prominence 
 
 had he continued. 
 
 The foregoing artists were more or less 
 identified with the great mezzotinters of the 
 eighteenth century. We now propose to add 
 a few worthy men of the nineteenth century ^ilUain 
 when steel was more in vogue than copper. S>ap 
 As previously stated, the first person to intro-l76S-lS3't 
 duce it was William Say, who was born in 
 1768. When twenty he became a pupil of 
 James Ward. His early work was closely 
 identified with that of his master. Later in 
 life he changed his style, owing to the influ- 
 ence of the newer method of work. The Brit- 
 
 25
 
 ish Museum has a collection of all the plates 
 he executed between 1795 and 1834, presented 
 in 1852, eighteen years after his death, by his 
 son. It is noticeable that Say's work impresses 
 one with a presentment of the decline of the 
 art, for though his work is filled with richness 
 l^illtnm and beauty, it does not attain the high merit 
 ^ap of that of his predecessors. His work covered 
 (C0ntinucl3)many fields of composition, including por- 
 traiture and still life subjects. He did many 
 of the most distinguished people of his time. 
 The practise of using a " remarque " in mez- 
 zotint originated with Say and his contem- 
 porary, George Chub. 
 
 S»amufl 
 William 
 
 1773-1S35 
 
 Born in the West Indies, 
 Was a pupil of Hodges. He was drawing- 
 master to the young princesses, daughters of 
 William IV., and received the appointment of 
 engraver to George III. He was a most rap- 
 id worker, and finished many subject and por- 
 trait plates. While in Paris, where he lived in 
 1826, he established a great reputation as a 
 painter as well as a scraper and became an 
 exhibitor at tlie Salon. He published a set of 
 small mezzotint illustrations of 350 of the 
 portrait paintings by Sir Joshua Reynolds, but 
 
 26
 
 of these many were engraved by his pupils. 
 One of them, Samuel Cousins, said that he ^amtirl 
 did a great number; in fact, we have seen a William 
 great many with the autograph of Cousins Kcpnollia 
 upon them. S. W. Reynolds' pupils were David (continucll) 
 Lucas and William Whiston Barney. 
 
 Pupil of S. W. Reynolds. This artist de- 
 voted only a small portion of his life to scrap- 
 ing, having abandoned the profession for the William 
 army, in which he became distinguished dur- ^^j^ifitOlX 
 ing the Peninsular War. As a scraper he did 43arnep 
 some admirable work, one of his best plates 1 — 7 
 being the portraits of Lord George and Lord 
 Charles Spencer, after R. Cosway. 
 
 This artist worked in the first half of the 
 nineteenth century when mezzotint engraving 
 passed through many changes. Turner's work 
 embraced all the different methods, his earliest 
 work being the pure mezzotint on copper or 
 mezzotint with the foundation of etching, af- *1/03'^"S 
 
 terwards changing to the mixed method, this *iHirn.cr 
 
 •   • 1774 W'^Y 
 
 bemg a combination of etching, mezzotint, i' '^'-*c-" 
 
 stipple and aquatint on steel. He engraved 
 nearly 700 plates and was made an A. R. A. 
 in 1828. One of his finest plates is " The Ship- 
 wreck," after J. M. W. Turner. 
 
 27
 
 Cbomas 
 
 This artist did not attain a very high level 
 as a scraper, but did some very commendable 
 work. He worked during the first half of the 
 nineteenth century, working therefore upon 
 both copper and steel. He engraved from pic- 
 tures by the best artists. The portrait of Prince 
 Talleyrand, after Scheffer, represents perhaps 
 his best work, although Lawrence's George IV. 
 full-length portrait is a very good example of 
 his style. 
 
 Sons of the steel engraver, William Bromley. 
 
 John Charles attained a higher place than his 
 
 brother, owing, perhaps, to his longer and more 
 
 robust life, for James died when he was only 
 
 thirty-seven, having in that time produced a 
 
 jlohn number of very commendable plates, princi- 
 
 CharltlS pally portraits, while his brother, John Charles, 
 
 ■^roittlCP directed his efforts to subject pictures, such as 
 
 1795-1839 " The Trial of Lord William Russell," after 
 
 Hayter, " Lady Jane Grey Refusing the 
 
 '5famCB Crown," after Leslie, and " Entry of Welling- 
 
 •iSromlCP ^°" '"^° Madrid," after Hilton. Many of his 
 
 I SO I IS3SP'^*'^^ ^''^ produced in the mixed method, for 
 
 he lived and scraped during the period when 
 
 steel was used in preference to copper. 
 
 28
 
 Was a pupil of S. W. Reynolds, and the fav- 
 orite engraver of Constable, who took a strong 
 liking to him when he was very young, and he 
 afterwards engraved many of his works. Art- 
 ist and engraver often sat side by side working 
 out together the problem of translating color 
 into black and white. It was owing to this 
 close friendship that so many of Constable's 
 paintings have been so truthfully translated. 
 The finest mezzotint of a landscape ever pro- 
 duced was the one scraped by Lucas after Con- 
 stable's painting, " The Rainbow." Although 
 his work often looks black and heavy there is 
 great power and his renderings of Constable's 
 morning landscapes with their broad brush 
 marks are wonderfully like the originals in 
 sympathetic feeling. It is interesting to note 
 that the greatest landscape of artist and en- 
 graver was published at the height of the 
 painter's fame and that he died three days 
 after. Lucas devoted almost his whole life to 
 landscapes. He published a set of plates of 
 English landscapes. Constable being his backer 
 in the enterprise. 
 
 Lucas 
 
 IS02 
 
 7 
 
 29
 
 Pupil of George Clint, assistant to Samuel 
 
 W. Reynolds, and first instructor to Samuel 
 
 Cousins. He did a great deal towards the in- 
 
 _ troduction of steel, but was not the first to 
 
 R ff n t introduce it. He was awarded for his eflforts 
 
 , J'r. !';?i^'^'^y the society of Arts the Isis Medal in 1822. 
 
 His work was delicate and full of strength of 
 
 tone. His landscapes and sea views are good. 
 
 He scraped a number of J. M. W. Turner's 
 
 sea pieces, and three of the Liber Studiorum 
 
 set. 
 
 Pupil of Robert Graves, a line engraver. He 
 
 worked in line, but his principal plates were in 
 
 mezzotint. He did a number of portraits of 
 
 ^fobn leading men in science, literature, etc., which 
 
 KiCJ^arti were fine in quality. He was a highly finished 
 
 3facfeS0n scraper; in fact, was the best of the modern 
 
 l8l9:lS77men. Nearly all his portraits were of men. He 
 
 scraped a number of subject pictures also. 
 
 |)rnrp 
 1783-4847 
 
 Was a pupil of Bartolozzi and gained a good 
 reputation in this method. His mezzotints, 
 which numbered about fifty portraits and a 
 number of subject pictures, gained for him a 
 local reputation, but were not of the highest 
 order, for he was deficient in both draftsman- 
 ship and execution. His best known plate is 
 
 30
 
 Miss O'Neill as " Belvidera," after Davis. He |)cnrj> 
 was a nephew of Hoppner and painted a num- ;|^eper 
 ber of portraits. (conttnttcU) 
 
 Was an engraver in stipple as well as in 
 mezzotint. In the latter method he scraped 
 about 100 plates, mostly private ones. He 
 was an accurate draughtsman and was noted 
 for accurate likeness and faithful rendering of l^tUiam 
 textures. His portraits are almost entirely of ^(il^tX 
 eminent men, only one woman being on record, 1791-1867 
 Lady Charlotte Schreiber, a well-known art 
 amateur. 
 
 This artist scraper, educated at the Parish 
 School in Exeter, came into the world of poor 
 parents, was in the opinion of many experts, 
 the greatest mezzotint scraper of the nine- 
 teenth century. One of his most noteworthy gtamitcl 
 features is his wonderful drawing. He scraped CoUfiilXfi 
 upon the soft copper in the early days, but^sOblSO? 
 after the introduction of steel in 1820, he 
 worked almost entirely upon the latter 
 metal. The requirements of the harder metal 
 were necessary for the larger production of 
 perfect impressions. He did much to improve 
 the method of work with the result that the 
 mezzotints from his hand have much more 
 
 31
 
 §»amud 
 
 of the quality of the greatest period than 
 any of the nineteenth century men. His 
 first work was done when he was only 
 fourteen years, and was from a pencil por- 
 trait he made of the great actor, Edmund 
 Kean, being at the time a pupil of S. W. Rey- 
 nolds. The drawing of this portrait was made 
 from life at the suggestion of S. W. Reynolds, 
 a great friend of the actor, and who asked him 
 to pose for it. The work of his master and 
 his ov/n were closely allied. j\Iany plates bear- 
 ing the name of S. W. Reynolds were done by 
 dLOUfitUfii t^iig younger man. He received more honors 
 (COUtlllUCojj-j^a^ji ai-iy artist of his profession, the Royal 
 Academy honored him with " R. A." He lived 
 to the good old age of eigthy-six years, en- 
 graving i8o portraits, fifty-seven subject pic- 
 tures, and eighty-nine small ones from paint- 
 ings by Sir Joshua Reynolds, published 1820-24. 
 His eyesight was remarkable, for it is said he 
 employed glasses only in the few last years of 
 his life. Cousins never engraved a portrait by 
 Gainsborough. He regretted this so that when 
 the Duchess of Devonshire was shown him 
 and he was asked to make an engraving of it 
 he was most happy that the opportunity was 
 presented, even though so late in life. He was. 
 
 32
 
 however, doomed to disappointment, for as 
 is well known this picture was stolen. The S)ainttcl 
 last picture engraved by Cousins was his own CoufiinS 
 portrait after Edwin Long, which was Pointed ('f(mj(mjp^\ 
 in 1883 and engraved in 1884. Most of Cous- 
 ins' plates are done in the mixed method. 
 
 33
 
 
 SnUfjr 
 
 
 Barney, Wm. Whiston 
 
 27 
 
 Lucas, David 
 
 29 
 
 Beard, Thos. 
 
 8 
 
 Lupton, Thos. 
 
 30 
 
 Boydell, Josiah 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 Bromley, James 
 
 21 
 
 Marchi, Guiseppi 
 
 15 
 
 " John Chas. 
 
 28 
 
 Meyer, Henry 
 
 30 
 
 Brook, J. 
 
 9 
 
 Miller, A. 
 
 8 
 
 Burke, Thos. 
 
 22 
 
 Murphy, John 
 
 19 
 
 Cousins, Samuel 
 
 33 
 
 Park, Thos. 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 Pelham, Peter 
 
 8 
 
 Dawe, P. 
 
 16 
 
 Pether, Wm. 
 
 15 
 
 " Geo. 
 
 25 
 
 Purcell, R. 
 
 10 
 
 Dixon, J. 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 Dickinson, Wm. 
 
 17 
 
 Reynolds, Sam'l Wm. 
 
 26 
 
 Dean, John 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 Dupont, Gainsborough 
 
 23 
 
 Say, Wm. 
 
 25 
 
 Dunkarton, Robt. 
 
 18 
 
 Simon, J. 
 
 6 
 
 Doughty, Wm. 
 
 21 
 
 Spooner, Chas. 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 Spilsbury, Jonathan 
 
 16 
 
 Faithorn, W. 
 Faber, J. Jr. 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 Stubbs, Geo. Townley 
 
 25 
 
 Finlayson, John 
 
 14 
 
 Thomson, Rich'd. 
 
 4 
 
 Fisher, E. 
 
 11 
 
 Townley, Chas. 
 
 19 
 
 Ford, M. 
 
 10 
 
 Turner, Chas. 
 
 27 
 
 Frye, Thos. 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 Walker, James 
 
 20 
 
 Grozer, Joseph 
 
 23 
 
 Watts, John 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 White, G. 
 
 5 
 
 Hodges, Chas. H. 
 
 23 
 
 R. 
 
 5 
 
 Hodgetts, Thos. 
 
 • 28 
 
 Williams, R. 
 
 5 
 
 Hudson, Henry 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 Houston, R. 
 
 10 
 
 Young, John 
 
 24 
 
 Jackson, John 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 M. 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 34
 
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