James Baylis Allen (1803–1876) was a British engraver. Allen, together with Edward and

William Radclyffe William Radclyffe (20 October 1783 – 29 December 1855) was an English engraver and painter. Born in Birmingham and self-educated, he was apprenticed to a letter engraver and studied drawing under Joseph Barber with his cousin John Pye. B ...

and the Willmores, belonged to a school of landscape-engravers which arose in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, where there were numerous engravers working on iron and steel manufactures.

Biography

Grave of James Baylis Allen in Highgate Cemetery

Allen was born in Birmingham, 18 April 1803, the son of a button-manufacturer. As a boy he followed his father's business; then about age 15 he was articled to Josiah Allen, an elder brother and general engraver in Birmingham. Three years later he began his artistic training by attending the drawing classes of John Vincent Barber and

Samuel Lines Samuel Lines (1778 – 22 November 1863) was an English designer, painter and art teacher, and an early member of the Birmingham School of landscape painters. A significant figure in the development of art in Birmingham during its rapid growt ...

. In 1824 Allen went to London, and found employment in the studio of the Findens, for whose ''Royal Gallery of British Art'' he engraved at a later period "Trent in the Tyrol", after

Augustus Wall Callcott Sir Augustus Wall Callcott (20 February 177925 November 1844) was an English landscape painter. Life and work Callcott was born at Kensington Gravel Pits, a village on the western edge of London, in the area now known as Notting Hill Gate. ...

. Allen died after a long illness at

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

on the 10th January 1876 and was buried on the western side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

. The grave (no.144) no longer has a marker but the remains of the plinth are still visible.

Works

Allen's best known plates are those after

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbulen ...

's drawings for the ‘Rivers of France,’ 1833–5, consisting of views of

Amboise Amboise (; ) is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Today a small market town, it was once home of the French royal court. Geography Amboise lies on the banks of the river Loire, east of Tours. It is also about away f ...

, Caudebec-en-Caux, Havre, and St. Germain; and for the ‘Picturesque Views in England and Wales,’ 1827–38, for which he engraved the plates of

Stonyhurst Stonyhurst is the name of a rural estate owned by the Society of Jesus near Clitheroe in Lancashire, England. It is centred on Stonyhurst College, occupying the great house, its preparatory school Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall and the parish ...

, Upnor Castle,

Orfordness Orford Ness is a cuspate foreland shingle spit on the Suffolk coast in Great Britain, linked to the mainland at Aldeburgh and stretching along the coast to Orford and down to North Weir Point, opposite Shingle Street. It is divided from the m ...

, Harborough Sands, and

Lowestoft Lighthouse Lowestoft Lighthouse is a lighthouse operated by Trinity House located to the north of the centre of Lowestoft in the English county of Suffolk. It stands on the North Sea coast close to Ness Point, the most easterly point in the United Kingdom. ...

. Other works were ‘The Falls of the Rhine,’ after Turner, for the ''Keepsake'' of 1833; some plates after

Clarkson Stanfield Clarkson Frederick Stanfield (3 December 179318 May 1867) was a prominent English painter (often inaccurately credited as William Clarkson Stanfield) who was best known for his large-scale paintings of dramatic marine subjects and landscapes. ...

and

Thomas Allom Thomas Allom (13 March 1804 – 21 October 1872) was an English architect, artist, and topographical illustrator. He was a founding member of what became the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). He designed many buildings in London, in ...

for

Charles Heath Charles Theodosius Heath (1 March 1785 – 18 November 1848) was a British engraver, currency and stamp printer, book publisher and illustrator. Life and career He was the illegitimate son of James Heath, a successful engraver who enjoyed ...

's ''Picturesque Annual'', and others after

Samuel Prout Samuel Prout painted by John Jackson in 1831 Market Day by Samuel Prout A View in Nuremberg by Samuel Prout Utrecht Town Hall by Samuel Prout in 1841 Samuel Prout (; 17 September 1783 – 10 February 1852) was a British watercolourist, and ...

, Roberts, Holland, and

James Duffield Harding James Duffield Harding (1798 – 4 December 1863) was a British landscape painter, lithographer and author of drawing manuals. His use of tinted papers and opaque paints in watercolour proved influential. Life Harding was born at Deptford in 17 ...

, for Robert Jennings's ''Landscape Annual''; and ‘The Grand Bal Masqué at the Opera, Paris,’ after

Eugène Lami Eugène Louis Lami (12 January 1800 – 19 December 1890) was a French painter, watercolorist, lithographer, illustrator and designer. He was a painter of fashionable Paris during the period of the July Monarchy and the Second French Empire and a ...

for Allom's ''France Illustrated''. His larger works were executed chiefly for '' The Art Journal'': * ''The Columns of St. Mark, Venice'' after Bonington * ''Battle of Borodino'', ''Lady Godiva'', and ''The Fiery Furnace'' after George Jones * ''Westminster Bridge, 1745'' and ''London Bridge, 1745'' after Samuel Scott, for the Vernon Gallery * ''Death of Nelson'', ''Phryne going to the Bath as Venus'', ''Decline of Carthage'', ''Ehrenbreitstein'', ''St. Mawes, Cornwall'', and ''Upnor Castle'' after Turner for the Turner Gallery * ''The Battle of Meeanee'' after Edward Armitage * ''Greenwich Hospital'' after Chambers * ''Hyde Park in 1851'' after J. D. Harding * ''Venice: the Bucentaur'' and ''The Dogana, Venice'' after Canaletto, and ''The Herdsman'' after Berchem, for the Royal Gallery * ''The Nelson Column'' after G. Hawkins * ''Smyrna'' after Allom * ''The Temple of Jupiter Panhellenius'' after Turner He engraved also a set of five views on the coasts of

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

and

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and plates for

William Henry Bartlett William Henry Bartlett (March 26, 1809 – September 13, 1854) was a British artist, best known for his numerous drawings rendered into steel engravings. Biography Bartlett was born in Kentish Town, London in 1809. He was apprenticed to John Bri ...

's ‘Ireland,’ 1835, Bartlett's ‘Switzerland,’ 1839, Bartlett's ‘Canadian Scenery,’ 1840, Beattie's ‘Scotland,’ 1836, Finden's ‘Views of the Ports and Harbours of Great Britain,’ 1839, and

George Newenham Wright George Newenham Wright (c. 1794–1877) was an Irish writer and Anglican clergyman. He was born in Dublin; his father, John Thomas Wright was a doctor. He graduated B.A. from Trinity College Dublin in 1814 and M.A. in 1817, having been elected ...

's ‘Rhine, Italy, and Greece,’ 1843.

References

Notes

External links

''Illustrated Picture Books''
;Attribution ;Links * An engraving of J Hartley's for Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837 with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon. * An engraving of

's for Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1838 with the poetical illustration ''The Cedars of Lebanon'' by Letitia Elizabeth Landon. * An engraving of

's for Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1838 with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon. {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, James Bylis 1803 births 1876 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery British engravers Artists from Birmingham, West Midlands