Directory of printmakers
Hertochs, Abraham (fl. 1626-1672) An engraver of Dutch extraction who produced various engraved title-pages, portraits and other book illustrations, including the frontispiece to Evelyn’s Sculptura (1662).
Hole, William (fl. 1607-24) Hole is known to have been working as an engraver by 1607, and he was dead by 1624, when he was succeeded as Chief Engraver to the Mint. He was responsible for producing engraved title-pages and portraits for works by some of the leading literary figures and musicians of the day. He also engraved Martin Billingley’s Pen’s Excellencie (1617?). He displays a somewhat French style, close to that of Leonard Gaultier.
Hollar,
Wenceslaus (1607-77) Perhaps the most talented and prolific printmaker to work in
Britain during this period, Hollar was born in Prague but forced into exile by the events of
the Thirty Years War. After working for Matthaüs Merian in Frankfurt, under whom his skills
as a topographical artist were developed, his career was transformed when he was taken into
the service of Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, in 1636. He travelled to England with Howard,
becoming a member of his household and executing various etchings for him. However, in 1644
he was forced into exile in Antwerp, where he remained for several years (though many of the
works that he executed were for the English market). He returned to England in 1652 and
thereafter was involved in a variety of publishing projects, not least those initiated by
Sir William Dugdale and John Ogilby. He also produced various remarkable views and maps of
London and Windsor, while in the 1670s he produced a set of views of the English colony at
Tangier.
Hondius, Jodocus (1563-1612/13) Hondius hailed from Ghent, but as a Protestant he took refuge in England in about 1583-4, where he continued to practice the skills as an engraver that he had initially developed in Flanders; he also devoted himself to the construction of geographical globes and scientific instruments. In 1592 or 1593 he left England, moving to Amsterdam, where he spent the remainder of his life. The engravings that he produced while in England were particularly maps, though he also produced portraits, notably of such seafarers as Sir Francis Drake.
Hove, Frederick van (c. 1628-98) A Dutchman who worked in Antwerp before moving to London in the 1660s, where he produced many engraved title-pages as well as at least sixty portraits for the booksellers.