"Butler's _Hudibras_, by Zach. Grey, LL.D. 2 vols. 8vo. Cambridge,
1744.
"Best edition. Copies in fine condition are in considerable request.
The cuts are beautifully engraved, and Hogarth is much indebted to the
designer of them; but who he was does not appear."
The above remarks in Lowndes's _Bibliographical Manual_ having caught my
attention, they appeared to me somewhat obscure and contradictory; and as
they seemed rather disparaging to the fame of Hogarth, of whose works and
genius I am a warm admirer, I have taken some pains to ascertain what may
have been Mr. Lowndes's meaning.
On examining the plates in Dr. Grey's edition, they are all inscribed "_W.
Hogarth inv^t, J. Mynde sc^t_." {356} How, then, can Hogarth be said to be
_much indebted to the designer of them_, if we are to believe the words on
the plates themselves--"_W. Hogarth inv^t"?_
It is clear that Mr. Lowndes supposes the designer of these plates to have
been some person distinct from Hogarth; and he was right in his conjecture;
but he was ignorant of the name of the artist alluded to.
Whoever he was, he can have little claim to be regarded as the original
designer; he was rather employed as an expurgator; for these plates are
certainly copies of the two sets of plates invented and engraved by Hogarth
himself in 1726.
All that this second designer performed was, to revise the original designs
of Hogarth's, in order to remove some _glaring indecencies_; and this, no
doubt, is what Mr. Lowndes means, when he says that "_Hogarth is much
indebted to the designer of them_."
The following passage in a letter from Dr. Ducaral to Dr. Grey, dated Inner
Temple, May 10th, 1743, printed In Nichols's _Illustrations_, will furnish
us with _the name_ of the artist in question:--
"I was at _Mr. Isaac Wood's the painter_, who showed me the twelve
sketches of _Hudibras_, which he designs for you. I think they are
extremely well adapted to the book, and that the designer shows how
much he was master of the subject."
In the preface to this edition, Dr. Grey expresses his obligations "to the
ingenious _Mr. Wood, painter, of Bloomsbury-square_."
In the fourth volume of Nichols's _Illustrations of Literature_ are some
interesting letters from Thos. Potter, Esq., to Dr. Grey, which throw much
light on the subject of this edition of _Hudibras_.
I cannot conclude these observations without expressing my dissent from the
praise bestowed upon the engravings in this work. Mr. Lowndes says "_the
cuts are beautifully engraved_." With the exception of the head of Butler
by Vertue, the rest are very spiritless and indifferent productions.