''The Costume of Yorkshire'' is an 1814 book by George Walker illustrating the various styles of dress worn by people of differing traditional professions in the county of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

in the 19th century.

Author

George Walker was born in 1781 near

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, the youngest of five brothers; his father William was a

drysalter Drysalters were dealers in a range of chemical products, including glue, varnish, dye and colourings. They might supply salt or chemicals for preserving food and sometimes also sold pickles, dried meat or related items. The name ''drysalter'' or '' ...

and a member of the

Mill Hill Chapel Mill Hill Chapel is a Unitarian church in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is a member of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, the umbrella organisation for British Unitarians. The building, which stands in the centre ...

. George was educated in

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...

and then at the Revd. Charles Wellbeloved's school in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. Instead of following his father's trade, he studied natural history and fine art, often making sketches of wildlife, people and landscapes. He died in 1856.

Book

The book contains an unnumbered frontispiece and 40 coloured and numbered engravings, including such famous pictures as those of Yorkshire cloth-dressers, making oatcakes, a woman spinning, and a collier. The text with each plate is in both French and English, an unusual feature given that the two countries had been at war for much of the period. Walker's paintings were engraved by the Havell family, including the engravers

Robert Havell The Havell family of Reading, Berkshire, England, included a number of notable engravers, etchers and painters, as well as writers, publishers, educators, and musicians. In particular, members of this family were among the foremost practitioners ...

(1769-1832) and his cousin Daniel Havell (1786-1822): plates 1-24 by both men, the rest, later, by Robert Havell alone. Robert's son, also called Robert, engraved

John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin; April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was an American self-trained artist, naturalist, and ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornithology turned into a plan to make a complete pictoria ...

's '' Birds of America''. The print of the Middleton collier has been used as an image of the English working class at its inception in the

industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

. File:Making oat cakes - The costume of Yorkshire (1814), plate IX, opposite 21 - BL.jpg, Plate 9, Making oat cakes File:Rape threshing - The costume of Yorkshire (1814), plate XV - BL.jpg, Plate 15, Rape threshing File:Spinning and carding wool - The costume of Yorkshire (1814), plate XXIX, opposite 69 - BL.jpg, Plate 29, Spinning and

carding wool Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods s ...

File:Leech Finders Costume of Yorkshire 1814.jpg,

Leech Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented bodie ...

finders

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Costume of Yorkshire, The 1814 non-fiction books Yorkshire culture English clothing