Ralph Beilby (1744–1817) was a British engraver, working chiefly on silver and copper. He was the son of William Beilby, a jeweller and goldsmith of

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

who later moved to

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

to look for better opportunities. Ralph became a silversmith, jeweller, and seal-engraver under his father and elder brothers Richard and William junior. In addition, he became a copper engraver to meet the demand of the then North England market. His plate "Thornton's Monument" in John Brand's ''History of Newcastle'' shows his craftsmanship in that field. In 1767

Thomas Bewick Thomas Bewick (c. 11 August 17538 November 1828) was an English wood-engraver and natural history author. Early in his career he took on all kinds of work such as engraving cutlery, making the wood blocks for advertisements, and illustrating ch ...

was apprenticed to him. They became partners 10 years later. The texts in Bewick's ''A General History of Quadrupeds'' (1790) and ''

History of British Birds ''A History of British Birds'' is a natural history book by Thomas Bewick, published in two volumes. Volume 1, ''Land Birds'', appeared in 1797. Volume 2, ''Water Birds'', appeared in 1804. A supplement was published in 1821. The text in ''Lan ...

: Land Birds'' (1797) were drafted by Beilby and revised by Bewick. According to Bewick's account, Beilby wanted to have his name appear in ''Land Birds'' as the sole author; however, upon Bewick's disagreement, neither of them was named as the author. The partnership came to an end in 1797, after the publication of ''Land Birds''. They were tentatively reconciled in 1800, co-operating again for some projects, including the publication of ''Figures of British Land Birds''. Bewick came to Beilby's defense when the latter had been defamed in a supplement to the third edition of the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

'' published in 1801.Uglow, pp. 269–70

References

Bibliography

* Bewick, Thomas (1975). ''A Memoir of Thomas Bewick''. Edited with an introduction by Iain Bain. London; New York: Oxford University Press. * ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' (1917). London: Oxford University Press. * Uglow, Jenny (2006). ''Nature's Engraver: A Life of Thomas Bewick''. London: Faber and Faber. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beilby, Ralph 1744 births 1817 deaths English engravers Natural history illustrators