THE MORE PROMINENT ENGRAVERS OF ENGLISH BOOK-PLATES
WILLIAM MARSHALL heads our list of engravers of English book-plates. We
know of but one specimen of his work, but it is exceedingly fine--the
anonymous plate of the Lyttelton family, described on p. 32. Marshall's
works are dated between 1591 and 1646. Next after him comes the
well-known engraver of portraits, William Faithorne (b. 1633; d. 1691),
whose Portrait book-plate of Bishop Hacket is figured opposite. David
Loggan, the engraver of the Isham book-plates in 1676, is the artist
next on our roll. How many book-plates he designed and engraved I do not
know, but there are two or three early English examples which, in their
arrangement and touch, resemble somewhat closely his work for Isham.
[Illustration]
About this same date Michael Burghers was engraving book-plates in
England; he appears to have left Holland in 1672, and to have settled in
Oxford. The earliest book-plate of his that I have seen is that of
Thomas Gore, already described; perhaps he found the allegory with which
he embellished it was not popular with Englishmen, and his other
book-plates--we know of two or three--are in the 'Simple Armorial' style
usual in English book-plates of the period. Lord De Tabley suggests that
Christopher Sartorius, who worked at Nuremberg between 1674 and 1737,
may be connected with the James Sartor who signed a fine English
'Jacobean' book-plate at the opening of the eighteenth century; of this
James we know nothing except this piece of work, which is certainly
good. After Sartor comes John Pine, whose pompous book-plate, engraved
about the year 1736, to commemorate George I.'s gift of books to the
University of Cambridge, has been described and figured (p. 75). He was
born in 1690, and died in 1756. His engravings of the Tapestry in the
House of Commons became so popular, that he was the subject of a special
Act of Parliament securing to him the emoluments arising from the sale
of the work. Pine, as we have seen, engraved other book-plates later on
in the century.
Michael Vandergucht, the famous Antwerp engraver, was also working in
England before the close of the seventeenth century, but his first
book-plate is dated in 1716. This was engraved for Sir William Fleming,
of Rydal, and is in many respects a striking piece of work. The style is
quite English of the period: heavy mantling descends to the base of the
shield; but the inscription--'The Paternal Arms of Sir William Fleming
of Rydal in the county of Westmoreland, Baronet,' with a description of
the heraldry--savours much of being the work of a foreigner. It should
be mentioned of this artist that he was pupil of one of the many Boutats
who were active as engravers of foreign book-plates. He (Vandergucht)
died in Bloomsbury in 1725.
After him we may appropriately mention his principal pupil--George
Vertue. His most conspicuous book-plate is certainly that of Lady
Oxford, which is already familiar to the reader.
Simon Gribelin is well known as a book-illustrator, and finds frequent
mention by Walpole. He was born at Blois in 1661, came to England when
nineteen, and worked here till his death in 1733. Perhaps the earliest
book-plate he engraved is that of Sir Philip Sydenham, which shows us
the shield and crest encircled with snakes and other ornaments,--a
book-plate decidedly foreign in appearance, though Gribelin must have
been nearly twenty years in England when it was engraved. He did two
other book-plates for Sir Philip. He also engraved some of the Parochial
Library plates described later on (pp. 225-227), and some others.
[Illustration]
Though 'J. Skinner'[16] (see pp. 81-86), an engraver who worked at Bath,
does not find mention in any dictionary of engravers, yet he deserves
notice from the student of book-plates for the great quantity of his
work in that field--nearly all dated, and some really very excellent. Of
Skinner, Lord De Tabley writes:--'I would gladly learn some biographical
details'; but he failed to find any, and I have been equally
unfortunate. At the British Museum there is no Bath newspaper or
directory sufficiently early to contain either an advertisement by
Skinner or a mention of his place of residence; in the _Bath Directory_
of 1812 the name is represented by two grocers, a publican, a gardener,
and one private resident--a Miss Skinner who lived at 3 St. James's
Parade. Sir Wollaston Franks tells me that, amongst the engravers who
vouched for the perfection of _Sympson's New Book of Cypher_--'the most
perfect and neatest drawn of any performance of the kind hitherto
extant'--was one Jacob Skinner, and it is very likely this was our
friend the engraver of book-plates, who laboured at Bath from 1739 to
1753. He worked in three successive styles of English book-plate
engraving--the Armorial, the Jacobean, and the Chippendale; a fact which
renders his plates of special interest to collectors, since it enables
them to see how the same hand treats the succeeding styles when fully
developed, and during their gradual change from one style into the
other. His earliest dated book-plate that we know is that for the
library of Sir Christopher Musgrave (figured opposite), and the next,
five years later, that of 'John Conyers of Walthamstow in Essex, Esq.'
Here the ornamentation is quite Jacobean; the shield is oval, with
wing-like excrescences at the top and on either side--that at the top
forming a background to the helmet which supports the crest. Next year
(1738) Skinner produced the book-plate of 'Francis Carington, Esq., of
Wotton, Warwickshire'--in appearance even earlier than that of Musgrave.
Some of this early appearance is perhaps due to an absence of indication
of the tinctures on the shield--a habit which, as we shall presently
see, Skinner followed in one or two other instances. A slight mantling
falls from an esquire's helmet and descends a little way down the shield
till it joins the Jacobean scroll-work, and the owner's name and
description are upon a fringed cloth. But the feature to note in this
book-plate is the monogrammatic form of the engraver's signature:
'[Illustration: JS symbol].' It is the first time he uses it, and in his
subsequent dated work he appears always to have adopted some similar
form, this being the most frequent:--'[Illustration: JS symbol]kin^{r}.'
[Illustration]
I have spoken of J. Skinner as a Bath engraver, but the reader will
observe that none of the book-owners, whose book-plates by him I have as
yet named, are specially connected with Bath, and on none has the
engraver mentioned it as his place of residence; but insomuch as
then--in the palmy days of the reign of King Nash--all roads led to
Bath, it is probable that, at the fashionable season, the Cumberland
baronet, as well as the Essex and Warwickshire squires, found his way
thither, and followed the fashion by having a book-plate engraved, just
as he would follow it, during his sojourn in the ancient city, by
squandering his time and injuring his digestion with late hours and a
surfeit of generally unwholesome gaiety. The next dated book-plate by
Skinner bears this out; on this, engraved in 1739, he gives Bath as his
place of abode; but this book-plate is that of Francis Massy of Rixton,
Lancashire; it is similar in design to the Carington just mentioned and
figured.
But earlier in style than any of Skinner's work yet mentioned is the
book-plate of 'William Hillary, M.D.,' dated in 1743; here the mantling
descends nearly to the base of the shield, quite in the 'Armorial'
style. This seems to be his latest work in early fashion. In 1741 he had
designed a book-plate for 'John William Fuhr,' in which there are clear
indications of Chippendale ornamentation. This is indeed a transitional
book-plate; it has a Jacobean shield, which the artist has adorned with
Chippendale ornament; the tinctures are only partially expressed and the
shield remains symmetrical, though the floral sprays and shell-work give
it, at first sight, the appearance of not being so. Identical, almost,
with this book-plate is that done by Skinner for 'Henry Pennant,' and
dated in 1742; and like it, but weaker, is that of 'Tho^{s.} Haviland,
Bath,' dated in the same year.
[Illustration]
Skinner's next book-plates are those of 'Charles Delafaye, Esq., of
Wichbury, Wilts' (1743); 'Johnson Robinson' (1744); 'John Hughes of
Brecon, Esq^{re.}'; and 'Benja: Adamson' (1745); 'Hen. Toye Bridgeman,
Esq., of Princknash, Gloucestershire' (1746); 'Henry Walters, Esq.,' and
'John Wodroofe' (1747), and 'Tho^{s.} Fitzherbert, Esq.,' (1749). All
these last-named book-plates are much on a level as regards artistic
merit, and that level is not a high one; Benjamin Adamson's book-plate,
figured on p. 209, is a fair example of it, though it is not so good as
the Bridgeman book-plate of the same year. In 1750, however, we find a
more noteworthy specimen of Skinner's work in the book-plate of 'Francis
Fleming.' There is a Scotch look about this, which suggests that the
owner, and not the engraver, was responsible for its design; the shield
is oddly shaped and is on a medallion, whilst musical instruments of
various kinds are figured beneath; Sir Wollaston Franks points out to me
that the Fleming coat of arms here represented is borne only by the
family of the Earls of Wigtown. The same year (1750) Skinner did an
ordinary Chippendale book-plate for Dr. Robert Gusthart, whose name
appears in the _Bath Guide_ as a doctor in practice there in 1773.
In 1751 Skinner engraved a pleasing Chippendale book-plate for William
Oliver, a son of his more famous namesake, whose book-plate, also by
Skinner, has been already described in these pages (p. 85). Young
Oliver's plate shows a remarkable fineness of touch, and is altogether
in very good taste--not over-ornamented. Two years later we have the
latest known example of Skinner's work: the book-plate of 'The Rev^{d}
I. Dobson, A.M.,' which is coarse in execution, and suggests that the
artist's skill as an engraver was diminishing.
[Illustration]
Of the twenty-two known book-plates by Skinner only two are undated,
Dr. Oliver's, already described (p. 85), and that of Sir John Smyth,
Bart., LL.D. This last he must have executed early in his career. The
shield bearing the arms stands upon a platform, and is Jacobean in shape
and ornamentation; the background is shaded. Clumsily drawn and clumsily
posed female figures, partly draped, stand upon bracket-like
excrescences that spring from the shield, whilst cupids recline below it
and hold it aloft.
What happened to Skinner after 1753 I have failed to discover. He is
certainly an interesting person from a book-plate collector's point of
view, and it is to be hoped something more about him may some day be
brought to light. In considering his identity it is worth remembering
that a little after his disappearance, viz. in 1755, another West of
England engraver named Skinner--Matthew Skinner of Exeter, is found
working on book-plates. He signs three examples, all designed in the
Chippendale style--'Jean Eli Jaquéri de Moudon en Suisse, Né en 1732';
'S^{r} Edm^{d} Thomas, Bart.,' and 'Peregrine Fra^{s} Thorne.' The two
first are ordinary Chippendale examples, but in the third many
implements of the soldier's art are introduced.
Another very prolific engraver of book-plates--unknown except in that
capacity--was 'Robert Mountaine.' His book-plates are frequently dated,
but the dates are placed in the most obscure positions, and in the
smallest of figures, so it needs a careful study of the engravings to
discover them. He laboured wholly in the Chippendale style; his touch
is peculiar, and his treatment graceful. Roughly speaking, he worked
from 1740 to 1755. His signature varies--sometimes it is 'R.M.,'
sometimes 'Mountaine.'
The following are a few of his book-plates:--
Henry Bowles.
W. Harrison, D.D., Fellow of C. C. C. Oxon.
R. C. Cobbe.
S. J. Collins.
C. Blackstone.
Ed. Gore, Kiddington, Oxon.
John Duthy.
John Hoadly, LL.D. [This is Dr. Hoadly, the versatile
author of oratorios and comedies.]
Sophia Penn.
Jos. Portal.
C. S. Powlet, Itchen.
Geo. Powlet, Esq.
John Sturgis.
A list of nearly sixty book-plates by Mountaine is given in the _Ex
Libris Journal_, ii. p. 46.
Hogarth's book-plates have been already described in this volume. The
'W. H.' who signs certain examples, once wrongly ascribed to Hogarth,
was a certain William Hibbart, who, like Skinner, was a Bath artist, and
etched portraits after the manner of Worlidge. Lord De Tabley mentions
that Worlidge himself executed a book-plate--that of the Honourable
Henrietta Knight--which he signs in full. Worlidge was certainly a
distinguished engraver; his etchings after Rembrandt are excellent and
highly prized. He died in 1766.
The work of Sir Robert Strange as a book-plate engraver has been already
referred to. Both Lumisden's and Dr. Drummond's book-plates were
probably executed after Strange's departure from England, and therefore
after 1745. His continental visit was rendered necessary, or at least
expedient, by the manner in which he had identified himself with the
Stuart cause during the then recent troubles. He had joined the Jacobite
Life-Guards, and employed his artistic ability in designing pay-notes
for the Jacobite soldiers. After studying some time in Paris under Le
Bas, he returned to England, where he remained till 1760. He then went
back to the Continent, where his ability was freely appreciated, and
where he was loaded with decorations at Rome and Florence. England at
length recognised his merit, and in 1787 the King conferred upon him a
knighthood, which he lived for five years to enjoy. His devotion to the
House of Stuart never altered; the inscription beneath one of his most
celebrated portraits reads 'Charles James Edward Stuart, _called_ the
Young Pretender.'
After the days of Strange, an innumerable number of artists sign their
names to English book-plates; yet, with three exceptions, the names of
none are known to fame till we come to those of a comparatively recent
date. The exceptions are Francis Bartolozzi, John Keys Sherwin, and
Thomas Bewick. Bartolozzi, the man of whom Sir Robert Strange displayed
such ill-concealed jealousy, began to work in England about four years
after the accession of George III., though it was some years before his
worth was appreciated by the people with whom he came to reside. None of
his book-plates belong to a date prior to 1770 or 1780. He removed to
Lisbon in 1802 to take charge of the National Academy, and while there,
it will be remembered, engraved an Englishman's book-plate in 1805 (see
p. 95). His death took place at Lisbon in 1815. Sherwin was born in
poverty, and, owing largely to his own folly, died in it, after having
at one time amassed a considerable sum of money. He was a pupil of
Bartolozzi, gained the Royal Academy gold medal in 1772, and was
appointed Engraver to the King in or about 1785. His book-plate work is
referred to at p. 72.
Thomas Bewick, who, as we have seen (pp. 108-13), was the most prolific
of any English engraver of book-plates, was born at Cherry Burn, in
Northumberland, in 1753, and died in 1828. The incidents in his history
are too well known to need repetition here, and his work upon
book-plates has been already mentioned. It may be, however, noticed that
his earliest book-plate is dated in 1797, the year in which he published
the first volume of his _British Birds_.
FOOTNOTE:
[16] See Article in _Bibliographica_, vol. ii. p. 422.