IV. The Authors

On September 1^st 1829 two new magazines were delivered to subscribers or made available for purchase. The first issue of The Rev. Thomas Moore’s The History of and Topography of The County of Devon was published in London by Robert Jennings, 62 Cheapside, on that day. Each issue was octavo[i] (145 x 230 mm) with a paper cover and cost just 1s. This work contained descriptive text by Thomas Moore and E W Brayley. A partial set of these is held in Exeter[ii] and consists of 41 of the first 47 issues plus three parts to a subsequent edition issued as a collection of three numbers. The local (i.e. Devon) distributor of the initial series would appear to be Mr W Bennett of Russell Street in Plymouth.

Fishers’ Views in Devonshire and Cornwall could be bought from J Gibson at his address at 8, Lady-Well-Place in Plymouth or was sent directly from the publishers H Fisher, Son & Co. from their premises at 38, Newgate Street and from the offices of Jones & Co. in Finsbury Square, both London addresses. From correspondence quoted earlier it is clear that Gilbert was very much Fisher’s representative for the south west. The first and all subsequent issues at quarto size[iii] (230 x 300 mm) had buff paper covers and surprisingly cost just 1s. This work contained descriptive text by J Britton and E W Brayley.

Both of these works contained exactly 94 illustrations. The steel engravings (or etchings), utilising this new technology, were a similar size at approx. 170 x 120 mm: those of Moore when imprints are included; Fisher when a dedication is present. These were printed one to a page in Moore’s work and two to a page in the work written by Britton and Brayley, mostly one above the other, only occasionally side by side. While the views in the former work were more in the nature of embellishments to Moore’s text, having no direct relevance to it, the Fisher plates were specifically the subject matter of the text written; most of it by John Britton whose name comes up as author or editor of a surprisingly large number of works around this time.

The Rev. Moore’s comprehensive tome with its full title The History of Devonshire from the earliest period to the present by Rev. Thomas Moore. Illustrated by a series of views drawn and engraved by and under the direction of William Deeble, was actually designed with two text volumes in mind plus illustrations and this is often how it is found bound today; a contemporary binder would separate the three sections and bind them individually as three volumes. The first volume was a General Description of the county and ran to 574 pages. Volume Two, Biography, actually does only contain biographies of prominent Devon personalities, 234 in total, and ran to just over 900 pages. Volume Three is generally devoted to the views as they contribute little if anything to the letterpress.

The title page – the same title page is used for all three volumes even retaining the original 1829 date – only alludes to the Rev^d Thomas Moore, however, both the cover of the parts issue as well as the Address make reference to E W Brayley. On the cover he is E W Brayley, Jun. A.L.S. and in the Address we are told that at least one of two promised maps will be coloured to accompany Mr Brayley’s Outlines. The complete work, according to the list on page 3 of the introduction in Volume I, was actually to cover: The description of its surface will be followed by a general history of the county, ancient and modern; together with an account of its antiquities, its geological features, natural history, rural economy, and the state of trade and commerce; ecclesiastical history, general biography, and brief histories of the nobility and distinguished families connected with the county; and finally, a particular and historical description of the different towns, sea-ports, harbours, curiosities &c. Volume I was indeed split up into four books: Book I General Description (with Chapters on Etymology etc., Rivers etc., Navigation of Rivers etc. And Railways: Book II General History (with 2 Chapters on Original Population etc, Historical Events: and Book III on the Outlines of the Geology, Physical Geography, and Natural History, of Devonshire. This is credited to Brayley (pp. 237 – 408) with the note that The part contributed by Mr Brayley, Jun. Terminates here.  Moore wanted it to be quite clear that the bulk of the enterprise was his own work. Book IV consisted of 3 chapters and covered agriculture trade and commerce, mining and minerals, and finishing with the trade in manufactured products.

To a certain degree, the title page illustration is an indication of what was to be found. The page presents a rood screen at top with three coats of arms being those of the City of Exeter, flanked by the mayoral arms of Plymouth and an engraver’s imagination of a suitable coat of arms for Tiverton.[iv] Flanking the title of the work are two more coats of arms: those of the Bishop of Exeter and that of the Fortescue family also seen on the cover to the parts issue. At the foot of the page are four discernible works of Devon literature: Camden’s Britannia (1586) or more specifically The visitation of Devon which was carried out in 1620 by Henry St. George and Sampson Lennard under Camden's direction; Risdon’s Survey which despite being in private circulation for almost 80 years had only recently been published in full (1811); Sir William Pole’s Collections (published posthumously by his family 1791); and Prince’s Worthies of Devon (1701). The present work was to bring all these learned works under one roof. It would seem to be a Benjamin Martin project but only for Devon.

Fig. 9. Title Page to Moore's History of Devonshire publ. Robert Jennings

The text of Fisher’s Devon & Cornwall Illustrated; Exhibiting the Picturesque Scenery, Buildings, Antiquities, &c. of these highly interesting counties, from Original Drawings by Thomas Allom, and W H Bartlett; with Descriptive Accounts, forming brief County Histories, is credited to J Britton and E W Brayley, Esqrs. Although at first glance sounding every bit as dry as Moore’s title, each plate was provided with its own specific text which varied in length and in historical background depending on the subject matter.

Edward William Brayley (1801-1870) was already a well-known figure by the time Fisher employed him to write some of the descriptive text which was specifically written to accompany the illustrations being used. Brayley was born in London and although he led a sheltered childhood by all accounts he was able to study and became interested in all aspects of the natural sciences and was a founding member of both the Zoological Society and the Chemical Society as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society.[v] It is obviously interesting to note that Brayley contributed to both works under discussion here. In Moore’s work he refers to his visit to the county in 1825 (p243).

John Britton (1771-1857), too, was no newcomer having already established a reputation as an English antiquary, topographer, author and editor. Born in Wiltshire and made an orphan at an early age and with no apprenticeship behind him he drifted from job to job. However, he tried his hand at writing and at some point met E W Brayley who became his friend. Together they wrote a number of descriptions of counties under The Beauties of England series (Wiltshire was their first in 1801). Britton is credited with making topographical works more interesting[vi] and this is certainly true when comparing these two works. He had already had some Devon experience as The History and Antiquities of the Cathedral Church of Exeter had been published in 1826.[vii] Perhaps there is no better example of Britton’s proliferation of works and his importance to Fisher than the four page advertising flyer inserted at the back of Issue 5: here his name is listed in connection with no less than ten of the twelve works listed.[viii] The text of Devon & Cornwall Illustrated ran to just 106 pages.

The only person to remain a bit of a mystery is the Reverend Thomas Moore. Surprisingly, the University of Salamanca, which has a project to record dialect words and expressions, mentions Moore on its website. "Almost no certain information has been found for this author. He is frequently confused with other Thomas Moores.“[ix] They go on to relate that there is an Obituary for him in the Hereford Journal, 7th Sept. 1842, give his dates as Minister between 1795 and 1809 and suggest he was born in Dartmouth.

Apart from the enticing possible Devon connection the rest would appear to be correct. An entry in The Christian Pioneer Band 16 has a Monthly Record entry for December 1. 1842. Here there is an obituary for the Rev. Thomas Moore who died in Islington on August 23^rd, 1842, at the age of 76. He was Minister at the Unitarian Chapel of Kingswood, Birmingham. The obituary mentions three of Moore’s writings including “an admirable Sermon against Cruelty to Animals” … “an elaborate and beautifully illustrated History of Devonshire" and an "ingenious Essay on Social Worship" etc." Apparently he left an aged widow, “and a large family of children and grandchildren.”[x]

Ian Maxted has discovered more accurate records and Thomas Moore was born in January 1767 (baptised on 13^th January) in Leicester at the St Mary de Castro church (two possible siblings are buried there). He married Frances Scott on 4^th August 1789 in Leicester. He was admitted to the Academy at Daventry and served as mentioned. At some time he must have moved to Islington with his family and he died there. His wife died five years later and was also buried in Islington. They had ten children together.

It is apparent that Moore had no connection with Devon. From a letter found in a copy of Moore’s History previously belonging to the Rev. George Oliver it is clear he was approached by the publishers to write the copy. From the letter it also emerges that by 1833 he was becoming very frustrated.

                                                

Fig. 10. Title page to Devonshire Illustrated publ. Fisher, Son & Co. 

Link to next section:

Part V: The Printers & Publishers

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[i] The text seems to have been assembled as one gathering of 16 pages (8 leaves) and one gathering of eight pages. Octavo is the form referred to in the Address although other formats were available.

[ii] The Devon Heritage Centre in Exeter. The series was inspected by Ian Maxted. The catalogue entry is inaccurate as it fails to mention the second series. The author also has copies of the first six issues.

[iii] The text was one double page to form a four page (2 leaf) gathering.

[iv] The castle, church and town of Tiverton above a representation of a woolpack with motto Sigillum Oppidi Tyvertoni; see Encyclopaedia Heraldica.

[v] See for example en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_William_Brayley.

[vi] See for example en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Britton_(antiquary).

[vii] See Somers Cocks entry S.84.

[viii] The works range from The Cathedral Church of Exeter (which takes up half the space available) to A Narrative of Memorable Events in Paris, Britton providing a Preface and Concluding Remarks.

[ix] See www.thesalamancacorpus.com/varia_s_dev_1800-1950_rev-thomas-moore_bio. In Book IV, pp. 506-510 there is a short List of some of the provincialisms which is of interest to the Salamanca corpus project.

[x] Search in The Christian Pioneer Band 16 pp. 558-559 in Hathi Trust digital library under Moore. https://www.hathitrust.org/.

 V. The Printers and Publishers

Robert Jennings seems to have been working in London from about 1810, first at Poultry and later in Cheapside. One of the first references to him is found on the title page of a work by Virgil, Virgilii Maronis Bucolica. This was Printed by T. Bensley, Bolt Court and published by Robert Jennings, No. 2, Poultry, and Sold by J. MacKinlay, Strand.[i] Sporadic works followed such as poems of J B Drayton (1815), an edition of Alexander Pope’s Essay on Man (1819) or A Code of Signals for … Merchant’s Ships (1816). He seems to have been more successful in the next ten years and his range becomes more extensive and more demanding. In 1826 Jennings published Robert Batty’s Scenery of the Rhine, Belgium and Holland. Another guide was Augustus Pugin’s Paris and its Environs (1829-31). He had already published two books on travel, Thomas Cromwell’s History of … Colchester (1825) and even an edition of Samuel Johnson’s A diary of a journey into North Wales (1816).

At about the same time he was busy publishing Moore, he produced Thomas Roscoe’s The Tourist in Switzerland and Italy (1830). This would appear to be the first of a series of illustrated guide books or so-called Landscape Annuals (as Jennings Landscape Annual from 1835) appearing one each year. Italy was continued in each of the following 3 years, 1834 saw a work on France, Spain appeared in 3 separate volumes with different attention paid to Granada, Andalusia and the journey to Morocco (1836-1838) and finally Portugal (1839). The 1831 Annual was published jointly by Robert Jennings and William Chaplin and this is also reflected in some of the imprints on Moore’s illustrations. It is apparent that with the investment in steel plates he now specialised in illustrated works to take full advantage of this technology.

Fig. 11. Back cover of Moore with Address to the public.

Another work worth mentioning here is The Keepsake. This was an illustrated anthology of poetry and prose sold annually from 1828 to 1857 during the Christmas season as gifts, the largest customer group being middle-class women. Bound in sparkling crimson watered silk with gilt-edged pages, The Keepsake featured elegant, steel-plate engravings of fashionable women, travel scenes, and romantic story pictures.[ii] Jennings, together with Hurst, Chance & Co. were the publishers of the first 4 issues (Jennings and Chaplin in 1831).

Robert Jennings was working on his own when he began publishing Moore’s History and his imprint is found on the first six numbers up to February 1830. By the June issue that year he had entered into partnership with W Chaplin and their combined imprint, in a number of variations, is found on all covers and plate imprints up to 1833. However, Ian Maxted has ascertained that the partnership was dissolved at the end of that year.

Although Jennings worked with the printer J Moyes (e.g. on North Wales), Moore used the services of Richard Taylor of Red Lion Court in London to print Moore’s History. The only reference to Richard Taylor in Todd[iii] is a passing reference to the Taylor family. Hence, Richard Taylor is given as a partner to John Taylor working c.1803-04 in Fleet St. Previous to this he may have been working with Robert Wilkes. There are then a number of addresses for Richard in the same London area. Rather amusingly his premises in 1805 were given as “at the back of my Dwelling House”. As sole proprietor he seems to have been in Shoe Lane (1823-2) and at Red Lion Court (1827-37). He died in 1858. His name and address are found on p.574 of Vol. I., i.e. the end of the first volume. This page is followed by a remark to the reader signed by T Moore in which he advises “Title-pages, an Index, Appendix, &c. Will be given at the conclusion of the Work. The final page of letterpress to Vol. II has no printer’s imprint but the four-page Index which follows has Exeter: Printed by W C Featherstone. This was a well-known and well-respected local publisher at the time. Maxted has a list of over 50 works printed by William Charleton Featherstone between 1825 and 1858 (interestingly Moore’s work is not listed).[iv] It would appear at first glance that Taylor printed all the text except the index.

The Featherstone company of lithographers and printers would produce two maps of Exeter in the 1850s.[v] William Charleton Featherstone was born circa 1794-95 in Plymouth and died 3rd February 1858 in Exeter. He married Jane and they had one son, Samuel, but it was Jane who registered William’s death and it was probably she who announced the sale of her late husband’s business to John Pollard in the Exeter Flying Post of 18th March of the same year. William worked from a large number of addresses and he is listed at 67 Fore Street in Pigot’s 1822 directory and under the Weekly Times Office 1828. As early as 1825 he printed a broadsheet on the proposed railway to Exeter (printer to J Godfrey). Between September 1832 and April 1833 eighteen issues of The Western Spy were published: the first two under Featherstone, the others by W C Pollard. He also published the Western Times for a while but severed connection with the paper to start up Featherstone’s Exeter Times in 1836 which was not successful and ran for only four months.

Henry Fisher (fl.1816-37d) and his son were well-known publishers at the Caxton Press in St. Martin-le-Grand, London, from the mid-1820s to nearly 1850. According to Todd[vi] Henry Fisher had started the Caxton Press Office in Liverpool but moved to London after it was destroyed by fire in 1821. He opened premises at Owen’s Row in Clerkenwell and 38 Newgate St (an address still being used in 1848). However, he had already maintained a warehouse at 87 Bartholomew Close. This address is given in an insurance document from 1814.[vii] Presumably he was distributing his Liverpool-printed religious material from there. He received £36 000 insurance compensation[viii] after the fire and this may have given him the incentive to review his situation. In 1825 Robert Fisher graduated from Cambridge University and joined the company. From 1827 the business was running as the Caxton Press and the name P Jackson occurs. From 1833-40 we find the imprint Fisher, Son & Jackson and from this time Fisher & Jackson. In 1842 the company completed Fisher’s County Atlas of England and Wales, an atlas originally started by Gilbert; this included a map of Devonshire based on earlier maps by J & C Walker.[ix] The Walkers would provide the map for Henry Fisher’s Devon Illustrated.

In 1829 and again in 1834 they produced a two parts series as Devon and Cornwall Illustrated. The former was published in London by H Fisher, Son & Co., Jones & Co. from their Newgate St. address, as well as by Jones & Co., Finsbury Square, and distributed in Plymouth by J Gibson. Once completed Devonshire and Cornwall Illustrated would have been made available to the general public and was sold with the publisher’s imprint of H Fisher, R Fisher and P Jackson in 1832, handsomely bund and gilt, price £2 2s. It is also known to have been sold as Fisher’s Picturesque Illustrations of Great Britain and Ireland. Third Series, comprising Views in the Counties of Devon and Cornwall by Fisher, Son and Co. and J Gibson in London in 1834[x]. The inclusion of title pages and index in Part 9 of this later series clearly indicates a 9-part set. Given a possible 36 part set for the first issue this would give the equivalent of four issues per month and ties in neatly with the new price – 4s. - and the dating of 1834 is based on an advert for another work on the back cover of both.

The Fisher company certainly were well versed in the production of this sort of publication. The adverts for the various works they had recently published or were in the process of publishing make frequent reference to parts issues. Issue 5 of Devon & Cornwall Illustrated referred to one of the works being written by J Britton, Picturesque Antiquities of the English Cities, which was to be completed in six numbers each to contain ten engravings.

Fig. 12. Typical back cover to Fisher; here to Numbers 30 and 33.

The back cover of this issue also has an advert for Lancashire Illustrated, in many ways a companion to Devon & Cornwall Illustrated, with Sixty-five engravings in 16 numbers. Another “companion” issue seems to have been Ireland Illustrated which was also heavily advertised on the covers of Devon and Cornwall Illustrated. From the 33 inspected parts these two works are each mentioned at least a dozen times. The inclusion might be a single line reference (2 issues), a small paragraph (8 issues) where Devon and Cornwall is omitted in the list three times or the complete back cover (Ireland issues 7 and 26, Lancashire issues 5 and 9 which has a half page announcing engravings still in the engraver’s hands, 18, 23, 24). In issue 22 (Fisher’s Illustrations 48) the works on Ireland and Devon and Cornwall receive a larger mention and this is followed by the suggestion to buy A Lancashire New Year’s Gift as This day is published ... Lancashire Illustrated.

All three of these works, as mentioned, were said to be Forming Part of the General Series of Fisher’s Grand National Improvements, and Jones’ Great Britain Illustrated. When the Devon-Cornwall parts series was reissued in 1834 the back cover was advertising Westmoreland, Cumberland, Durham, and Northumberland, Illustrated. Another serial issue this was to appear in Numbers with four engravings at 1s, or in Parts with eight engravings at 2s. Other counties followed in due course.

They were also very quick to present advertising content about their works, hence in Issue 11 we already find testimonials for Devon & Cornwall: The Literary Gazette wrote that The views in this Part (Part I) are seventeen in number, and are beautifully executed; the Plymouth Chronicle thought it was very good value a price (4s) infinitely below its value; and an admiring fan, given as Alfred of Exeter enthused As it advances, it improves in public estimation.

Just as Jennings was happy to publish a “drawing-room” book, probably a coffee table book by today’s criteria, so too Henry Fisher. Although he entered this market later than Jennings on the cover of Issue 29 we find an advert for Fisher’s Drawing-room Scrap Book. At the end of a full half page advertising the work and its layout we are told: Unlike the other Annuals, the Drawing-Room Scrap Book will not anticipate its proper season; and on that ground alone is entitled to attention as a genuine and desirable Novelty for A Christmas present, or A New Year’s Gift.

 Link to next section:

Part VI: The Engravers.

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[i] See Hathi Trust digital library search under Robert Jennings for a list of possible works connected to him.

[ii] Verbatim. See romantic-circles.org/editions/lel/ksintro for a very good review of this popular periodical.

[iii] Todd (1972).

[iv] See Maxted’s list (2014)  at bookhistory.blogspot.com/2014/10/devon-imprints-exeter-featherstone.

[v] Bennett & Batten (2010).

[vi] Todd (1972) p.69.

[vii] James M‘Kenzie-Hall (1).

[viii] Ibid.

[ix] Batten & Bennett 2000/2010, entry 120

[x] The author has Parts 1 and 9. 

 VI. The Engravers

 

The 94 engravings for Moore were drawn and engraved by a large number of artisans (see Appendix II) although the name of Deeble stands out prominently and it is little wonder his name is included in the complete title of the work. Although Ian Mackenzie refers to him as “a line engraver of small bookplates including landscapes, and topographical views after his contemporaries” it is clear he had some sort of reputation[i] and the title page makes it clear he was in charge of the illustrations. William Deeble (fl.1815-1858) may even have been from Devon, or more likely, Cornwall: of 217 Deebles registered in the 1881 census 99 lived in Cornwall and 15 in Devon (41 others in London).[ii] While several have no reference such as James Bingley, William Floyd, J Eke, or Thomas H Shepherd, H Worsley (a local Plymouth artist and engraver), A Glennie, T H Clarke, J Gandy, W J Lea, S Condy or W H Bartlett and are not listed in Mackenzie’s catalogue, others receive brief mention similar to that of William Deeble, these being Thomas Higham, Henry Wallis, A McClatchie and J Henshall.

Other contributors deserve a little more attention: Thomas Mann Baynes was known as a watercolour artist as well as draughtsman and lithographer and worked with W H Bartlett on a series covering the Wye. Robert Brandard (1805-1862) who only drew the Bishop’s Palace in Paignton was born in Birmingham but worked in London and was one of two or three brothers who worked there. Interestingly, he was registered in Islington about the time he produced the one plate for Jennings. Thomas Hewitt Williams was known as a West Country draughtsman and occasional lithographer who wrote and illustrated several books. He was in Devonport in 1801 but moved to Exeter before 1807 where he remained. He made a number of walking tours throughout Devon and illustrated his own guide books.[1] George Bryant Campion (1796-1870) was also a painter of landscapes and military subjects even teaching drawing at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich but later lived in Munich and is known for two sets of prints.

R Brown’s name crops up in two Devon contexts. Henry Besley’s Route Book of Devon was a huge success as one of the first Devon guides produced in the county and ran to several reprints. In the early guides (1845 to 1851) Besley introduced a map of Plymouth and it is signed in the title panel “R. Brown, Architect, Delin.” However, the Plan of Plymouth, Stonehouse and Devonport had already appeared in 1841 in William Wood’s The Stranger’s Handbook to the Western Metropolis. This was not, however, R Brown’s first cartographic venture. When Octavian Blewitt updated The Panorama of Torquay in 1832 for E Cockem in Torquay there was a map of that town[iii] “Drawn by R. Brown, archt.” Moore’s map of Exeter was similarly drawn by Brown.

There were other contributors: there are 13 other engravings embedded in the text section of Volume I and two in Vol. II. While most are unsigned; 2 Dartmoor scenes, Dartmouth, 3 fossils and a plan of their find, a Devonshire plough and the Laywell spring in Brixham; four others are signed. Sowerby drew an illustration of Grauwracke of Hartland Point, a scene of Vixen Tor is signed J Mosses Sc., Bowman’s Nose is by Sears, and W Dawson signed the view of Aqueduct over the Torridge. In Volume II there is an engraving of Raleigh's house Fardel From a Drawing by Mr Condy of Plymouth on p.230 (S Condy drew the illustraton of Buckland Abbey) and an unsigned illustration of a chair made from wood from Francis Drake's ship, the Hind (p.196).  

James Sowerby (1757-1822) was the leading botanist of the age, but this drawing is more likely from his son, James De Carle Sowerby (1787-1871), a well-known mineralogist. He and his cousin founded the Royal Botanic Society and Gardens. William Dawson is quoted in Somers Cocks as contributing to two works. Together with Mary Buckland he contributed views to the Rev. Conybeare’s and Pof. Buckland’s Memoirs and Views of the Landslips on the Coast of East Devon (1840); and he drew the six views included in William Spreat’s publication Six Sketches Illustrative of the South Devon Railway (1848). A further view by Dawson listed by Somers Cocks is of the bridge and viaduct on the Exeter to Exmouth railway which was never actually built (SC. 3004, c.1855). 

Fig. 13. Illustration by Dawson embedded in text of Moore's History.

Devon and Cornwall Illustrated was a superb piece of cooperation between artists such as Thomas Allom and W H Bartlett who provided the original drawings, John Britton and Edward Wedlake Brayley, who provided the text to each illustration, together with the various steel engravers, printers and publishers (see Appendix III). The original covers to the monthly magazine gave credit to all four with “original drawings by Thomas Allom, and W H Bartlett” and continued “with descriptive accounts ... by J Britton, and E W Brayley Esqrs.” See Appendix III for a list of plates.

The whole work was originally published in parts by H Fisher, Son & Co and Devon was published concurrently with the Cornish volume (although a large portion of Devon was complete before the first section of Cornish text appeared) between circa September 1829 and October 1832. The work was also to be published on the first of every month with two leaves of views (two to a page, i.e. 4 views) and two leaves of text as: Devonshire & Cornwall Illustrated; … Forming part of … Fishers’ Grand National Improvements, and Jones’ Great Britain Illustrated. The latter mention was important as it crops up again, more significantly, in later issues of the parts series.

This work, unlike Moore’s book, covered both Devon and Cornwall. The Devon section has a title vignette and 94 other steel line engravings by William Taylor, William Le Petit, John Thomas, John Smith, W H Bond, Samuel Fisher (born in Birmingham but worked in London) and Ebenezer Challis who are all listed in British Prints as “line engravers of small bookplates usually of either landscapes, topographical views, architectural views or historical subjects after their contemporaries” and “flourishing in the mid 18^th century”.[iv] Others such as Percy Heath, J R Davies, Thomas Dixon, J Lowry, J F Lambert, F J Havill, John James Hinchliff, Alexander (“Old”) Carse, Tombleson and William Miller are not listed at all. Some receive special mention such as Henry Wallis who was also an etcher and who suffered two strokes and became a book dealer; Charles Mottram (1806-1876) is listed as major line and mixed method engraver of biblical, sporting, historical, sentimental and animal subjects who was responsible for many of the best known Victorian engravings: Joseph Clayton Bentley (pupil of Robert Brandard) also executed plates after Old Masters for The Art Journal (born in Bradford 1809 he died in London 1851); and M J Starling, one of a large family who were involved in engraving at this time.  William Tombleson (1795-c.1846) is probably most well-known for 69 illustrations he executed for Tombleson’s Views of the Rhine from Cologne to Mainz. This was even published in 1832 by George Virtue in French. He also produced a number of views for The Thames and Medway. These views are notable for the decoration around the plate borders.

All of these engravers executed their work after the work of Thomas Allom (76 plates), W H Bartlett (15), J Harwood (2), A Salvin and G Wightwick (1 each). Only Thomas Allom was of any note as an architect and painter of topographical views. He travelled extensively abroad producing many drawings for reproduction by steel engravers. He himself also lithographed several architectural and topographical views. At the time of his engagenment with Fisher he had just left the Royal Academy school where his professor for perspective had been J M W Turner. Diana Brooks and James M’Kenzie-Hall believe it was the lure of travel that led him to work for Fisher and not develop a career as an architect. Bartlett was apprenticed to John Britton between 1822-29.[v]

The Cornwall section has title vignette and 44 steel line engravings by W Taylor, W Le Petit, J Thomas, B R Davies, S Fisher, T Dixon, F J Havill, E Challis, W Miller, Rolph, W S Wilkinson, and M J Starling after T Allom (all). The text ran to 48 pages.

Link to images of all Moore plates

Link to images of all Fisher plates

 Link to next section:

Part VII: Maps & Mapmakers

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[1] For further information regardng these engravers see Ian Maxted Etched on Devon’s Memory listing.

[i] Mackenzie (1987/88).

[ii] See website britishsurnames.co.uk/surname/deeble/1881census.

[iii] A Topographical Map of the Parishes in the vicinity of Torbay Illustrative of the District and Antiquities Described appeared in the Panorama of Torquay. This map was only 135 x 180 mm. It was lithographed by George Rowe, a popular local lithographer, draughtsman and publisher of topographical views.

[iv] Mackenzie (1987/88).

 [v] Diana Brooks; Thomas Allom, RIBA; London; 1998. Quoted by M’Kenzie-Hall in an email to the author.

 VII. The Maps & Mapmakers

Both compilations promised to provide maps. Moore’s Address to the public is interesting here as it promised: Two impressions of a map of the County will be given in the course of the Work; one of them, to accompany Mr Brayley’s Outlines, will be coloured geologically; ground plans of the City of Exeter and the Cathedral will also be given.

When published in bound format Volume I of Moore had a map of THE CITY OF EXETER clearly dated 1835 and engraved by W Schmollinger with a Paternoster Row address and published by R Colliver, Exeter; the second volume had a detailed county map of very high quality also engraved by W Schmollinger, and published by R Colliver, Holloway Street, Exeter but dated 1836. The map of Exeter was Drawn by R Brown. It would appear that Moore and Browne had some sort of contact, possibly only postal, as Moore refers to him when writing about the Rev. Bidlake who resided in Tamerton. “I am indebted for the materials of this article chiefly to Mr R Brown, architect, who ... is a native of Tamerton” (footnote p. 746 Vol. II). However, the footnote on page 766, at the end od a long biography of Joshua Reynolds, refers to Brown as a resident of Topsham.

Fig. 14. Map of Exeter by Schmollinger for Moore.

Maxted has a Richard Colliver (fl. 1828-1848) who was working as both a Bookseller and tea dealer in the period 1828-1835, and as bookseller only from 1836. He was resident at the Holloway Buildings during this time.[i] The dates and address certainly fit but for Colliver to engage a London engraver to execute two such fine maps is commendable. In addition Ian Maxted has inspected the collection at Exeter and established that although Mr W Bennett was distributing the parts issue from his premises in Russell Street Plymouth from at least 1831 it was Colliver whose name appears on the quarterly parts issues 8, 9 and 10 which are extant. William Bennett was a bookseller, publisher, stationer and bookbinder first at 13, Russell Street, Plymouth (1830) and later at 22, Russell Street (1840-1844) He was also registered at 53, Paternoster Row, London in 1844.[ii]

The 1836 map of Devon by Schmollinger is of a similar style to those found in Moule’s English Counties. The frame, typical of Moule’s maps (although not Devon) has columns right and left with two different and very ornate stonework patterns between and has been bound into editions of The History of Devonshire. The county map is unusual in having vignette views of Tavistock Abbey and County Sessions House, neither of which appear on any other maps of Devon. The former view looks a little bit out of place, almost as if a Reference to Hundreds might have been moved to create space for it.

William Schmollinger seems to have been a specialist map engraver as well as publisher and flourished between 1830 and 1837. Plans of Pompeii for Sir William Gell are known but his main mapping work seems to have been contributing to Thomas Moule’s English Counties[iii], being responsible for 25 different map plates. He also produced at least two maps of London in the early 1830s. Worms and Baynton-Williams[iv] believe him to be William Francis Schmollinger, born c.1811. He married in London in 1836 Sophia McMurdo. He had premises at 27 Goswell Terrace, Goswell Road about the time he engraved these maps, and later in Aldine Chambers, Paternoster Row. He may well have been the son of the Joseph Schmollinger and Mary Drew who married at St Leonard Shoreditch in 1799[v].

It is interesting that James Bingley is listed as engraving a number of plates for Moore’s History. He, too, contributed 18 engraved maps to Moule’s English Counties and for a while Schmollinger and he, together with Francis Roxburgh, seem to have been in partnership circa 1833. Bingley was imprisoned for debt and there was a court case between Schmollinger and Roxburgh. Schmollinger was himself declared bankrupt in May 1856 and died in Camberwell aged 58 (1869).[vi] He would have been working for both Moule and Moore at about the same time. The name Roxburgh crops up again later.

Fig. 15. Map of Devonshire by Schmollinger for Moore.

The puzzling aspect remains that in the Address it would appear that 4 maps and plans were offered but only two were forthcoming. The county map “coloured geologically” and the plan of the Cathedral never emerged. The two maps included could have been from another source and tipped in later when the book sections were sent to the binder but they have not been seen included in any other work.

Two specially commissioned maps were included in Devon & Cornwall Illustrated: the county map of Devon had an attractive vignette view of Babicombe Bay signed by Allom and Floyd and was dated 1831; and Cornwall, with an inset of the famous Cheese Wring and signed by B R Davies, was dated 1832. The two maps appeared in issues 29 and 33 respectively and were to be bound as frontispieces to face the title page in the bound version. Usually, the two counties are found bound together but each has its separate title page still dated 1829 for Devon and 1832 for Cornwall but a new joint title page was issued for insertion in 1832. The publishers commissioned the maps from the company of J & C Walker who produced a number of maps of the two counties for various works.[vii]

Allom, as we know from the title was responsible for a good part of the drawings, but nothing is known about Floyd (fl.1832-1859)[viii] and he is listed neither by Mackenzie or Worms/Baynton-Williams but we know he also engraved four plates for Moore. He also worked for Fisher, Son & Co., producing engravings of the Rhine scenery for their part work The Rhine, Italy and Greece (c.1841-42).

Benjamin Rees Davies (c.1799-1872) was a map and writing engraver, cartographer, publisher and printer.[ix] His first cartographic work is recorded as early as 1811 and in 1832 he collaborated with J Britton on a map of Tunbridge Wells. John and Charles Walker were among the leading publishing companies for cartographical works at this time.

The map they produced for this work measured 185 x 235 mm (l x h) with a scale of English Miles (20 = 46 mm) or approximately 1M = 2.3 mm. The title DEVONSHIRE was above the top border centrally. The map included a vignette view of BABICOMBE BAY. The publisher’s imprint of FISHER, SON & Co. LONDON, 1831. was centrally below the lower border and the engraver’s signature, Drawn & Engraved by J & C. Walker. was below the bottom border to the right. The map was issued with one of the final parts issues and shortly before subscribers would have the complete series bound. Obviously the publishers would bind copies themselves and offer these for sale.  Hence the map of Devon appeared in Devon & Cornwall Illustrated – Part No. 29 and the companion map of Cornwall - measured 185 x 235 mm (l x h) at the same scale of English Miles (20 = 46 mm) – in Part No. 33. The title CORNWALL was above the top border centrally. The map included a vignette view of THE CHEESE WRING. The publisher’s imprint of FISHER, SON & Co. LONDON, 1831. was centrally below the lower border and the engraver’s signature, Drawn & Engraved B R Davies. was below the bottom border to the right. 

Fig. 16. Map of Devonshire by B R Davies for Fisher.

Both maps make use of unusual vignette scenes. It had been comparatively unusual to include scenes in county maps outside of the title cartouche and only a small number of the 120 map engravers of a Devon county map before Victoria had found space for a view. Setting aside those who included coats of arms (and Drayton’s fairy-like creatures) Read (1743) had included two versions of Edystone Lighthouse (copied by Simpson-Walker 1744), Bowen (1763), Langley-Belch (1817), C & J Greenwood (in 1827 and 1829), Pigot (1829) and Scott-Fullarton (1833) had all included Exeter Cathedral. Dix and Darton portrayed Dartmouth Castle (1816) and Thomas Moule presented Exeter Guildhall in his map by Schmollinger already discussed (1834). The scenes in Moore and Fisher are unique to these maps.

 

 Link to next section:

Part VIII: Publication History

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[i] See bookhistory.blogspot.com/2014/07/devon-book-trades-exeter-c. This is one of the Exeter Working Papers in Book History compiled by Ian Maxted as An anti-book trade index . A chronological listing of attacks on the written word. An excellent series on all fronts.

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] Batten & Bennett (1996/2008) entry 111.

[iv] Laurence Worms and Ashley Baynton-Williams (2011).

[v] Laurence Worms; Some British Mapmakers; Ash Rare Books Catalogue and Price List; 1992.

[vi] Worms and Baynton-Williams (2011).

[vii] See Batten & Bennett(1996/2008) entries 103, 113 and 116.

[viii] He has one print catalogued on the Royal Academy website. Ash Rare Books gallery has his dates as (1802-1887).

[ix] Worms and Baynton-Williams (2011).