John Thompson (engraver)

John Thompson (25 May 1785 – 20 February 1866) was a British
Thompson also engraved the design for the 1839
Life and work

Thompson was born in Manchester to a London merchant, Richard Thompson.[1]
He trained under the wood-engraver Allen Robert Branston, and then collaborated with the artist John Thurston. He engraved around 900 of Thurston's designs from 1814 onwards including illustrations for Butler's Hudibras in 1918.[1] He is described as Branston's "most celebrated pupil".[2]
He illustrated many books, becoming in the words of Freeman Marius O'Donoghue in the
As well as wood-engravings for books, Thompson engraved the design for the
Thompson won the grand medal of honour for wood-engraving at the 1855 Paris exhibition.[1]
Family
His younger brother,
John Thompson's eldest son, Charles Thurston Thompson (1816–1868), followed his father into the wood-engraving profession. After assisting in organising the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London, he moved into photography and became the South Kensington Museum's official photographer.[1]
His other son, Richard Anthony Thompson was an assistant director at the South Kensington Museum (until 1892).[1]
Thompson's three daughters,
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Lee, Sidney, ed. (1898). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 56. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ "George Johnson Wood-Engraving Collection". University of Manchester. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ Yarrell, William (1843). A History of British Birds: Preface. London: John Van Voorst. pp. v–xii.
- ^ Soffer, Richard. "Yarrell, William (1784-1856). A History of British Birds". Amherst College. Soffer Ornithology Collection Notes. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
- ^ Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1885). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 4. London: Smith, Elder & Co.