George Cooke (22 January 1781 – 27 February 1834), was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

line engraver Line engraving is a term for engraving, engraved images printed on paper to be used as Old master print, prints or illustrations. The term is mainly used in connection with 18th- or 19th-century commercial illustrations for magazines and books or ...

Life and work

Cooke was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1781. His father was a native of

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, Germany, who in early life settled in England and became a wholesale

confectioner Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...

. At the age of 14, George Cooke was apprenticed to

James Basire James Basire (1730–1802 London), also known as James Basire Sr., was a British engraver. He is the most significant of a family of engravers, and noted for his apprenticing of the young William Blake. Early life His father was Isaac Basire ...

(1730-1802). Around the end of his apprenticeship he engraved many plates for Brewer's ''

The Beauties of England and Wales ''The Beauties of England and Wales'' (1801–1815) is a series of books describing the topography and local history of England and Wales. Produced by a variety of London publishers, the work appeared in 18 multi-part volumes arranged by county, ...

'', some in conjunction with his elder brother,

William Bernard Cooke William Bernard Cooke (1778 – 2 August 1855), was an English line engraver. Life and work Cooke was born in London in 1778. He was the elder brother of George Cooke (1781–1834), and became a pupil of William Angus (1752–1821), the engr ...

. Afterwards, he produced engravings for

Pinkerton's Pinkerton is a private security guard and detective agency established around 1850 in the United States by Scottish-born cooper Allan Pinkerton and Chicago attorney Edward Rucker as the North-Western Police Agency, which later became Pinkerton ...

16-volume ''Collection of Voyages and Travels'', during which his brother William made plans for the first edition of ''The Thames'', to which George Cooke contributed two plates. This work was followed by ''Picturesque Views on the Southern Coast of England'', from drawings made principally by

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...

. It was commenced in 1814 and completed in 1826, and George Cooke engraved 15 plates, nearly one-third of the total, and some

vignettes Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...

. Next appeared an improved edition of ''The Thames'', for which he engraved the 'Launch of the Nelson' and the 'Fair on the Thames,' after

Luke Clennell Luke Clennell (8 April 1781 – 9 February 1840) was a British wood-engraver and painter. Life Clennell was born in Ulgham near Morpeth, Northumberland, the son of a farmer. He was apprenticed to the Newcastle upon Tyne wood-engraver Thomas ...

, and the 'Opening of Waterloo Bridge,' after

Philip Reinagle Philip Reinagle (1749 – 27 November 1833) was an English painter of animals, landscapes, and botanical scenes. The son of a Hungarian musician living in Edinburgh, Reinagle came to London in 1763 and after serving an apprenticeship, later bec ...

Phlox carnea Loddiges 111 W Miller delt GC sculpt

Between 1817 and 1833 he produced, in connection with

Loddiges The Loddiges family (not uncommonly mis-spelt ''Loddige'') managed one of the most notable of the eighteenth and nineteenth century plant nurseries that traded in and introduced exotic plants, trees, shrubs, ferns, palms and orchids into Europea ...

of Hackney, London a number of plates for the ''Botanical Cabinet'',' and about the same time he engraved some of the plates, after Turner, for Hakewill's ''Picturesque Tour of Italy'', 1820, and

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

's ''Provincial Antiquities and Picturesque Scenery of Scotland'', 1826, in which latter work should be especially noted "Edinburgh from the Calton Hill". To these were added plates for Thomas Allason's ''Antiquities of Pola'', 1819, John Spencer-Stanhope's ''Olympia'', (published by Rodwell and Martin, 1824), and D'Oyly and Mant's ''Bible'', as well as some of those for John Hughes' ''Views in the South of France, chiefly on the Rhone'', after

Peter De Wint Peter De Wint (21 January 1784 – 30 January 1849) was an English landscape painter. A number of his pictures are in the National Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum and The Collection, Lincoln. He died in London. Biography De Wint wa ...

. Besides these Cooke engraved a few plates for the publications of the

Dilettanti Society The Society of Dilettanti (founded 1734) is a British society of noblemen and scholars that sponsors the study of ancient Greek and Roman art, and the creation of new work in the style. History Though the exact date is unknown, the Society is b ...

, and for the ''Ancient Marbles in the British Museum'', and the ''Ancient Terracottas'' in the same collection, and single plates after Turner of a "View of Gledhow" for Whitaker's ''Loidis and Elmete'', and "Wentworth House" for Thomas Dunham Whitaker's ''History of Richmondshire''. In 1815, he produced some lithographs for Henry Holland's ''Travels in the Ionian Isles, ...''. He also engraved the "Iron Bridge at Sunderland", from an outline by

Edward Blore Edward Blore (13 September 1787 – 4 September 1879) was a 19th-century English landscape and architectural artist, architect and antiquary. Early career He was born in Derby, the son of the antiquarian writer Thomas Blore. Blore's backg ...

; for Surtees's ''History of Durham''; and the "Monument of Sir Francis Bacon" in

St Michael's Church, St Albans St Michael's Church is a Church of England parish church in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. Much of the building is late 10th or early 11th century, making it the most significant surviving Anglo-Saxon building in the county. It is located ...

, for Robert Clutterbuck's ''History of Hertfordshire''. In 1825, Cooke finished his fine engraving of "Rotterdam", from Augustus Wall Callcott's picture belonging to the Earl of Essex, and shortly afterwards issued a prospectus announcing a series of plates from Callcott's works, of which two, "Antwerp" and "Dover", were begun and considerably advanced when vexation at the loss of the proceeds of his 'Rotterdam,'caused by the failure of his agent, led to their abandonment. He then began, in 1826, the ''Views in London and its Vicinity'',George Cooke.
Views in London and its vicinity (1826-34)
'' engraved from drawings by Callcott, Stanfield, Roberts, Prout, Stark, Harding, Cotman, and Havell, ending with the 12th issue just before his death. In 1833, Cooke produced ''Views of the Old and New London Bridges'', executed conjointly with his son,

Edward William Cooke Edward William Cooke (27 March 1811 – 4 January 1880) was an English landscape and marine painter, and gardener. Life and work Cooke was born in Pentonville, London, the son of well-known line engraver George Cooke; his uncle, William B ...

, who also made the drawings. He also produced plates for Frederick Nash's ''Views in Paris'', Colonel Batty's ''Views of European Cities'', Baron Taylor's ''Spain'' published by Robert Jennings, Rhodes's ''Peak Scenery'' and ''Yorkshire Scenery'', several for Stark's ''Scenery of the Rivers of Norfolk'', and one of "Southampton", after

Copley Fielding Anthony Vandyke Copley Fielding (22 November 1787 – 3 March 1855), commonly called Copley Fielding, was an English painter born in Sowerby, near Halifax, and famous for his watercolour landscapes. At an early age Fielding became a pup ...

, for the ''Gallery of the Society of Painters in Water Colours''. Cooke was one of the original members of the "Society of Associated Engravers", who joined together for the purpose of engraving the pictures in the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

, and two of his plates were in preparation at the time of his death. He likewise attempted engraving in

mezzotint Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the '' intaglio'' family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzotint achieves tonali ...

, and in that style executed a plate of 'Arundel Castle,' after Turner; but it was not a success, and was never published. Cooke died of '

brain fever Brain fever describes a medical condition where a part of the brain becomes inflamed and causes symptoms that present as fever. The terminology is dated and is encountered most often in Victorian literature, where it typically describes a potential ...

' on 27 February 1834 at

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People * Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom *Barnes, London, England **Barnes railway station ** Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes Railway Bri ...

, where he was buried.

References

External links

George Cooke online
(ArtCyclopedia)
Engravings by George Cooke
(Grosvenor Prints)
Engravings by George Cooke
(rareoldprints.com) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, George English engravers 1781 births 1834 deaths