William Savage (1770–1843) was an English printer, engraver, draughtsman and author of several works about printing.

Life

Born in 1770 at

Howden Howden () is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of York to the north of the M62 motorway, M62, on the A614 road about south-east of York and north of Goole, ...

in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...

, he was the younger son of James Savage, a clockmaker. He was educated at the church school in Howden. In 1790 he went into business as a printer and bookseller there in partnership with his elder brother, James Savage. In 1797 he moved to London, and about two years later was appointed printer to the

Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

. There for ten years he was assistant secretary to the board of managers, and also secretary to the library committee, secretary to the committee of chemistry, and superintendent of the printing office. About 1803 Savage went also into business as a printer in London on his own account. In 1807 he was commissioned to print Edward Forster's ''British Gallery of Engravings'', It made his reputation as printer. Savage died at his residence at Dodington Grove,

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, on 25 July 1843, leaving three daughters.

Works

Savage devised a

printing ink Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. ...

without any oil in its composition, and publicised it in ''Preparations in Printing Ink in various Colours'' (London, 1832). In recognition of his services, the Society for the Encouragement of Arts awarded him their large medal and a sum of money "for his imitations of drawings, printed from engravings on wood, with inks of his own preparing". Savage published ''Dictionary of the Art of Printing'' (London, 1840–1, in 16 numbers); it drew on the work of Joseph Moxon. He was also the author of: * ''Observations on Emigration to the United States'', London, 1819. * ''Practical Thoughts on Decorative Printing'', London, 1822 (limited edition). This work was illustrated by engravings from

Augustus Wall Callcott Sir Augustus Wall Callcott (20 February 177925 November 1844) was an English landscape painter. Life and work Callcott was born at Kensington Gravel Pits, a village on the western edge of London, in the area now known as Notting Hill Gate ...

, John Varley, John Thurston,

Thomas Willement Thomas Willement (18 July 1786 – 10 March 1871) was an English stained glass artist and writer, called "the father of Victorian stained glass", active from 1811 to 1865. Life Willement was born at St Marylebone, London, the son of Thomas Wi ...

, and

William Henry Brooke William Henry Brooke (1772–1860) was a British artist and illustrator. Life He was the son of the painter Henry Brooke and a nephew of Henry Brooke, the author of ''A Fool of Quality''. He was a pupil of Samuel Drummond, and worked as a por ...

. The edition was limited. Savage, 1822, p. title page Savage was a draughtsman, and there are engravings from drawings by him in the section of John Britton's ''Beauties of England and Wales'' dealing with Yorkshire.

Citations

Sources

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Savage, William 1770 births 1843 deaths English printers English engravers