Joseph Moser (1748 – 22 May 1819) was an English artist, author, and magistrate. He was a nephew of

George Michael Moser George Michael Moser (17 January 1706 – 24 January 1783) was a renowned artist and enameller of the 18th century, father of celebrated floral painter Mary Moser, and, with his daughter, among the founder members of the Royal Academy in 1 ...

, enamel painter and drawing-master to

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1774 to 1782. He was made magistrate for Westminster in 1794 and published political pamphlets, dramas, and fiction.

Life

Moser was of Swiss descent, the son of Hans Jacob Moser, an artist. He was born in

Greek Street Greek Street is a street in Soho, London, leading south from Soho Square to Shaftesbury Avenue. The street is famous for its restaurants and cosmopolitan nature. History It is thought to take its name from a Greek church that was built in ...

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

. While still quite young he was placed with his uncle, George Moser, to train at the Royal Academy as an artist in enamel. Moser did not intend to follow this profession, though he remained in the Royal Academy until his marriage to Elizabeth Liege in 1780. From then on he devoted himself to literature. He was made a magistrate in 1794. In 1808 he was presiding magistrate in the case of James Hardy Vaux following the latter's arrest for the theft of a silver snuff box, and a vivid account of the courtroom examination is preserved in Vaux's memoirs.''Memoirs of James Hardy Vaux''. W. Clowes. 1819. Vaux's account of his theft, arrest, examination and trial is given in Vol. 2, Ch. 5. Moser died in Romney Street,

Partial list of works

* ''Lucifer and Mammon'' 1793 * ''Turkish Tales'' 1794 * ''Anecdotes of

Richard Brothers Richard Brothers (25 December 1757 – 25 January 1824) was an early believer and teacher of British Israelism, a theory concerning the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. Biography Life Brothers was born in Port Kirwan, Newfoundland (earlier known ...

'' 1795 * ''The Hermit of Caucasus'' 1797 * ''Moral Tales'' 1797

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Moser, Joseph 1748 births 1819 deaths English dramatists and playwrights 18th-century English novelists People from Soho British people of Swiss descent English male dramatists and playwrights English male novelists 18th-century English male writers