Directory of printmakers
Savage, John (active 1683-1700) Little is known about Savage’s life, virtually the only relevant piece of information being Vertue’s comment that ‘he was a French man'. The earliest works by him that have been noted are plates to the Philosophical Transactions from 1683 onwards. In 1689 he took over Isaac Beckett's shop from his widow, and his career can be followed through dated works until 1700. He is named as engraver on two plates from the Cryes of London (after Laroon, published by Tempest) but stylistically it is evident that he engraved them all (see Griffiths, Print in Stuart Britain, p. 260).
Sherwin, William (c. 1645-after 1709) The son of a nonconformist divine of the same name, Sherwin was responsible for the first dated mezzotint produced in England, a striking portrait of Charles II which dates from 1669. Otherwise, however, Sherwin’s output of prints was somewhat haphazard, not least since he was also highly active in other activities, including the first scheme anywhere in Europe for printing calico, for which he set up a factory at West Ham in Essex, aided by capital provided by the dowry of his wife, Elizabeth, a great niece of George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle.
Smith, John
(1652-1743) ‘The greatest native-born British printmaker of the 17th century’ (Griffiths,
Print in Stuart Britain, p. 140), Smith came from a craftsmen
family in Northampton, initially being apprenticed, like Isaac Beckett, to a calico printer.
Initially Smith worked for Beckett, but from 1683 he started producing mezzotints of his
own, and, after at first producing these for other London publishers, in 1687 he started
publishing his own prints, doing so systematically from 1692 onwards. From 1693 onwards he
was based at Russell Street in Covent Garden. Smith’s profuse output comprised both
portraits—many of which resulted from his close collaboration with the portrait painter Sir
Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723)—and subject mezzotints, and he also re-published older plates;
he continued to be active for the first four decades of the 18th century. Vertue tells us
that his prints were widely esteemed in Europe as well as in England, and his astute
business practice meant that he died a rich man.
Somer, Jan van (active 1660-after 1687) and Paul van (active 1670-94) Both of these men were apparently of French origin, but their careers are obscure. Jan was responsible for various mezzotints, both portraits and subject plates, while Paul produced both etchings and mezzotints.
Stoop, Dirk (c. 1618-86) Stoop hailed from Utrecht, where he published etchings of horsemanship and other subjects, before moving to Portugal in or before 1661. While there, he became associated with Catherine of Braganza, and he came to London with her in 1662, remaining there for a few years and producing various etchings including some for Ogilby’s edition of Aesop’s Fables (1665).
Sturt, John (1658-1703) Sturt was apprenticed to Robert White in 1674. Later he became known as an engraver of calligraphy, and his output also included engraved title-pages and prints of architectural and naval subjects. In 1697 he founded a drawing school in St Paul’s churchyard in conjunction with Bernard Lens II.