



Produced by David Widger from images generously made
available by The Internet Archive







FOUR HUNDRED HUMOROUS ILLUSTRATIONS

By George Cruikshank

With Portrait and Biographical Sketch

Second Edition

London

Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co Glasgow




BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

GEORGE CRUIKSHANK was born in London on the 27th of September, 1792.
His parents were of Scotch nationality. The father, namely, Isaac
Cruikshank, was an artist by profession, having considerable skill in
water-colour painting and etching. The mother was a Miss Macnaughten,
of Perth, a _protege_ of the Countess of Perth, and the possessor of
a small sum of money. She was a person of energetic temper and strong
will, and so thrifty that by saving she added considerably to her
original pecuniary possession. She was also careful to bring up her
children in a pious manner, being, along with them, a regular attendant
at the Scotch Church in Crown Court, Drury Lane.

The couple took up house in Duke Street, Bloomsbury, where two sons
and one daughter were burn. The elder son was born in 1789, named Isaac
Robert, and ultimately became an artist of considerable reputation,
but of much less originality in character and design than his younger
brother. George was born about three years later. In artistic work he
struck out in a new line, and although the difference between his
work and that of his father and brother was not in every case strongly
marked, still it was always sufficient to enable experts to select the
productions of the youngest from those of his two seniors, a distinctly
new and original vein appearing in them from the first.

While the three children were still quite young, the family removed to
No. 117 Dorset Street, Salisbury Square, Fleet Street, where the parents
let a portion of the house to lodgers. Here the father continued to
work on his plates, while his wife coloured them by hand, soon, however,
obtaining help in that respect from her sons. The boys went to school
at Mortlake, and afterwards to Edgeware, but not for long, so that they
owed little to school masters. The elder brother went to sea, and not
returning when expected, was supposed to be lost, and mourned for as
such. But after three years he suddenly re-appeared, and was welcomed
home with joy,--resuming engraving for a livelihood Unfortunately for
the family, the father died in 1811 Up to the time of his decease he
appears to have had a steady and good business, having produced an
immense number of sketches, coloured etchings, engravings, and designs
produced in various modes, many of them in connection with the stage. At
the time of his father's decease, the oldest son was twenty-two years of
age, and George, the second son, nineteen. They were both well-advanced
in their profession, and were quite capable of taking up and prosecuting
their father's business connection.

Previous to all this, there is no doubt that George began to draw when
he was a mere child. Some of his productions of 1799 are still extant.
"George's first playthings," says Mr. Bates "were the needle and the
dabber;" but play insensibly merged into work, as he began to assist his
hard-worked father. His earliest inclination, it is said, was to go
to sea, but his mother opposed this. The earliest job in the way of
etching, for which he was employed and received payment, was a child's
lottery ticket. This was in 1804, when he was about twelve years of age.
in 1805 he made a sketch of Nelson's funeral car, and whimsical etchings
of the fashions of the day. His earliest signed work is dated two years
later, and represents the demagogue Cobbett going to St. James's. His
father's early death threw the lad on his own resources, and he quickly
found that he must fight for a place in the world, as Fuseli told him
he would have to do for a seat in the Academy. Anything that offered was
acceptable--headings for songs and halfpenny ballads, illustrations for
chap books, designs for nursery tales, sheets of prints for children--a
dozen on the sheet and a penny the lot--vign