Benjamin Cheverton (1796 – 1876) was an English

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

. With the assistance of

John Isaac Hawkins John Isaac Hawkins (1772–1855) was a British American inventor and civil engineer who twice emigrated to and ultimately died in the United States, American state of New Jersey. Early life Hawkins was born on March 14, 1772 at Taunton, Somerse ...

, he designed and operated a novel

pantograph A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a Linkage (mechanical), mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a se ...

machine to create detailed miniature reproductions of sculptures, primarily busts of historical and mythological figures by contemporary sculptors like

Francis Leggatt Chantrey Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (7 April 1781 – 25 November 1841) was an English sculptor. He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time. Chantrey's most notable w ...

Louis-François Roubiliac Louis-François Roubiliac (or Roubilliac, or Roubillac) (31 August 1702 – 11 January 1762) was a French sculpture, sculptor who worked in England. One of the four most prominent sculptors in London working in the rococo style, he was described ...

, and

Joseph Durham Joseph Durham (1814 – 27 October 1877) was an English sculptor. Life Durham was born in London in 1814. Around 1827 he was apprenticed to John Francis. He later worked in the studio of E. H. Baily for three years, and exhibited his ...

. His reproducing machine, which was exhibited at the

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...

of 1851, is now in the collection of the

Science Museum, London The Science Museum is a major museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London. It was founded in 1857 and is one of the city's major tourist attractions, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually in 2019. Like other publicly funded ...

. A large collection of his work is found in the Thomson Collection at the

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; ) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located on Dundas Street, Dundas Street West in the Grange Park (neighbourhood), Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, the museum complex takes up of phys ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheverton, Benjamin 1796 births 1876 deaths English inventors English sculptors