Emblematical Representation of Commerce and Plenty Presenting the City of London with the Riches of the Four Quarters of the World

David Hughson (c. 1760s – 1820s), which may have been a

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of Edward Pugh, was a writer on the

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

and

history of London The history of London, the capita ...

. He produced a description of the city based on "an actual perambulation" (walk) that was published in six volumes between 1805 and 1809 and contains 150 copper plate

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...

s principally based on illustrations by

Robert Blemmell Schnebbelie Robert Blemmell Schnebbelie (16 September 1781 – 1847) was an English painter and illustrator. He produced numerous paintings and drawings of London's topography during the first half of the 19th century. He was born in Canterbury in 1781 as th ...

and Edward Gyfford. He also produced works on topical matters such as the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

, religious subjects, and works of household management targeted at people of the " middling and genteel ranks of life".

Life

Little is known of Hughson's life other than that David Hughson was probably a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

and that his real name may have been David Pugh, or Daniel Pugh, or Edward Pugh, or R. Pugh.Halkett, Samuel, & John Laing. (1888
''A Dictionary of the Anonymous and Pseudonymous Literature of Great Britain''
Vol. 4. Edinburgh: William Paterson. p. 2785. In his book ''The East-India Question Fairly Elucidated'' (1813) he described himself as a "native" of London and as having resided in the city for over 50 years, indicating that he may have been born in the early 1760s. The last original work published in his name was his 1829 revision of William Augustus Henderson's ''Modern Domestic Cookery'' (best known as the author of '' The Housekeeper's Instructor''). In his works he is described as having the degree of

LLD Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation#Plural forms, abbrev ...

(doctor of laws) and, in one, of MD.

Works

Fish Street Hill engraved by John Roffe after Edward Gyfford

Perambulation of London

Hughson is best known for his ''London; Being an Accurate History and Description of the British Metropolis and its Neighbourhood, to Thirty Miles Extent'' which he prepared from "an actual perambulation" (a real walk) of the city. The work was first published between 1805 and 1809 by James Stratford of

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its roots ...

in 149 parts of about 24 pages each for binding into six volumes. After Stratford, it was also published by Joseph Robins of

Tooley Street Tooley Street is a road in central and south London connecting London Bridge to St Saviour's Dock; it runs past Tower Bridge on the Southwark/Bermondsey side of the River Thames, and forms part of the A200 road. (.) St Olave The earliest nam ...

and parts by J. Robins of Ivy Lane,

Paternoster Row Paternoster Row was a street in the City of London that was a centre of the London publishing trade, with booksellers operating from the street. Paternoster Row was described as "almost synonymous" with the book trade. It was part of an area cal ...

. It includes 150 copper plate engravings but also many engraved titles and small

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

illustrations. The engravings are mostly by Ambrose Warren from works by

and Edward Gyfford. Other engravers who contributed were

William Woolnoth William Woolnoth (1780–1837) was an engraver. He was one of the engravers whose work was included in Cadell and Davies ''Britannia depicta''. He did engravings of work by artists such as Thomas Mann Baynes, Robert Blemmell Schnebbelie, Frederick ...

, John Roffe and J. S. Storer."93. Hughson's London (1805)" in Bernard Adams (1983) ''London Illustrated 1604–1851: A Survey and Index of Topographical Books and their Plates''. London: The Library Association. pp. 201–205. In 1817, he published ''Walks Through London'' (2 vols.) which contained 96 copper engravings and 24 on wood. The principal engravers and artists were J. Greig, T. Higham and W. Wallis. J. C. Varrall, E.J. Roberts, W. Morland and C. J. M. Whichelo also contributed."121 Hughson's Walks Through London (1817)" in Bernard Adams (1983) ''London Illustrated 1604–1851: A Survey and Index of Topographical Books and their Plates''. London: The Library Association. pp. 276–280. Halkett and Laing, in their dictionary of anonymous and pseudonymous literature, give the author of this work as "Dr. R. Pugh" but say it has also been ascribed to

William Hamilton Reid William Hamilton Reid (died 1826) was a British poet and hack writer. A supporter of radical politics turned loyalist, he is known for his 1800 pamphlet exposé ''The Rise and Dissolution of the Infidel Societies in this Metropolis''. His later vi ...

and Mrs Reid. Reid's obituary in ''

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...

'' (1826), however, states that although Reid prepared topographical notes on London, his research was unpublished at the time of his death.

Domestic economy

In 1817, he published ''The New Family Receipt-Book: Or Universal Repository of Domestic Economy''. The book collected recipes, medical information, advice on household management, and other material. Among the contents are articles on an "Easy Method of Curing the Sea-Scurvy" and a method "To Increase the Force of Gun-Powder". Arnold Oxford suggests it is an abbreviated version of the anonymous 1810 book, ''The Family Receipt-Book'', the title page of which is almost identical. In 1829, ''Modern Domestic Cookery, and Useful Receipt Book, Adapted for Families in the Middling and Genteel Ranks of Life'' was published in New York, stated to be written by W. A. Henderson (author of '' The Housekeeper's Instructor'') and "enlarged and improved by D. Hughson M.D."Henderson, W. A. & D. Hughson (1929
''Modern Domestic Cookery, and Useful Receipt Book &c.''
New York: Thomas Kinnersley. Titles.

Other works

In 1814, he published ''A Copious Account of the French and English Prophets, Who Infested London During 1707'' which dealt with the

Camisard Camisards were Huguenots (French Protestants) of the rugged and isolated Cévennes region and the neighbouring Vaunage in southern France. In the early 1700s, they raised a resistance against the persecutions which followed Louis XIV's Revocation ...

Huguenot preachers, the first of whom arrived in London in 1706, and their fate. In the same year he published the Quaker biography, ''The Life of

James Nayler James Nayler (or Naylor; 1618–1660) was an English Quaker leader. He was among the members of the Valiant Sixty, a group of early Quaker preachers and missionaries. In 1656, Nayler achieved national notoriety when he re-enacted Christ's Palm ...

, A Fanatical Enthusiast, Who Profanely and Blasphemously Personated Jesus Christ''. Both were reprinted in M. Aikin's ''Memoirs of Religious Impostors'' in 1821.Aikin, M. (1821
''Memoirs of Religious Impostors from the Seventh to the Nineteenth Century''.
London: Jones & Co.

Selected publications

London

* ''London; Being an Accurate History and Description of the British Metropolis and its Neighbourhood, to Thirty Miles Extent, from an Actual Perambulation''. J. Stratford, London
Vol. I
1805
Vol. II
1805
Vol. III
1806
Vol. IV
1807
Vol. V
1808
Vol. VI
1809. *
A Copious Account of the French and English Prophets, Who Infested London During 1707, etc
'. S.A. Oddy, London, 1814. *
A Respectful Appeal to the Consideration and Justice of the Mayor, and Commonality, and Citizens of London &c.
' Sherwood, London, 1816. *
An Epitome of the Privileges of London, Including Southwark, as Granted by Royal Charters &c.
' Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, London, 1816. * ''Walks Through London, Including Westminster and the Borough of Southwark, With the Surrounding Suburbs; &c.'' Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, London, 1817
Vol. IVol. II
* ''Multum in Parvo. The Privileges of Southwark, Comprised in the Charters Granted to the City of London by Edward III., Edward IV., Edward VI. &c.'' Southwark, c. 1818.

Other

''The East-India Question Fairly Elucidated &c.''
C. Chapple, London, 1813. *
The Life of James Nayler, A Fanatical Enthusiast, Who Profanely and Blasphemously Personated Jesus Christ &c.
'. S.A. Oddy, London, 1814. *
The New Family Receipt-Book: Or Universal Repository of Domestic Economy &c.
' W. Pritchard & J. Bysh, London, 1817. *
Modern Domestic Cookery, and Useful Receipt Book, Adapted for Families in the Middling and Genteel Ranks of Life &c.
' Thomas Kinnersley, New York, 1829. (Written by W. A. Henderson, revised by D. Hughson)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughson, David British non-fiction writers Historians of London Writers about London 19th-century English writers 19th-century pseudonymous writers Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 1760s births 1820s deaths 18th-century English people