Charlton Nesbit (177511 November 1838) was a British

wood-engraver Wood engraving is a printmaking technique, in which an artist works an image into a block of wood. Functionally a variety of woodcut, it uses relief printing, where the artist applies ink to the face of the block and prints using relatively lo ...

Life

Nesbit was born in

Swalwell Swalwell is a village in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, in the United Kingdom. History On 27 August 1640, an encampment of soldiers was gathered in the fields north of Whickham church on the slope down to Swalwell. This was part of the Royal ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, the son of a keelman. Nesbit became the wood-engraver

Thomas Bewick Thomas Bewick (c. 11 August 1753 – 8 November 1828) was an English wood engraving, wood-engraver and natural history author. Early in his career he took on all kinds of work such as engraving cutlery, making the wood blocks for advertisements, ...

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

around 1789. During his apprenticeship, he drew and engraved the bird's nest that heads the preface in the first volume of ''

A History of British Birds ''A History of British Birds'' is a natural history book by Thomas Bewick, published in two volumes. Volume 1, ''Land Birds'', appeared in 1797. Volume 2, ''Water Birds'', appeared in 1804. A supplement was published in 1821. The text in ''Land ...

'', and he engraved the majority of vignettes and tail-pieces for ''Poems of

Goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

and Parnell'', 1795. In 1796, Nesbit engraved a memorial cut to another of Bewick's apprentices,

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His singing, guitar playing and songwriting on his landmark 1936 and 1937 recordings have influenced later generations of musicians. Although his r ...

(1770–1796), from one of that artist's designs, and a little more than a year later, for the benefit of Johnson's parents, a large block after a

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...

by Johnson of a north view of St Nicholas's Church, Newcastle. This print, fifteen inches by twelve, was one of the largest wood-engravings ever attempted in the precise mode of Bewick's shop. Nesbit presented an example of this print to the

Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

, who awarded him their lesser silver palette. Around 1799 Nesbit moved from Newcastle to

Fetter Lane Fetter Lane is a street in the ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London, England. It forms part of the A4 road (England), A4 road and runs between Fleet Street at its southern end and Holborn. History The street was originally called F ...

, London, where in 1801 he engraved woodcuts for Grey's edition of Samuel Butler's ''

Hudibras ''Hudibras'' () is a vigorous satirical poem, written in a mock-heroic style by Samuel Butler (1613–1680), and published in three parts in 1663, 1664 and 1678. The action is set in the last years of the Interregnum, around 1658–60, immediate ...

''. In 1802 he received a silver medal from the

. He worked on the 1806 ''Scriptures Illustrated'' of William Marshall Craig, and on Wallis and Scholey's edition of

David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; – 25 August 1776) was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist who was best known for his highly influential system of empiricism, philosophical scepticism and metaphysical naturalism. Beg ...

's ''History of England'', which often bears his name on the woodcuts. With Branston and another of Bewick's pupils,

Luke Clennell Luke Clennell (8 April 1781 – 9 February 1840) was a British wood-engraver and painter. Life Clennell was born in Ulgham near Morpeth, Northumberland, the son of a farmer. He was apprenticed to the Newcastle upon Tyne wood-engraver Thomas ...

, he engraved the head and tail pieces for an 1808 edition of

William Cowper William Cowper ( ; – 25 April 1800) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the Engli ...

's ''Poems'' in two volumes. He also engraved 'Hope Departing', 'Joyful Retribution', 'Sinners Hiding in the Grave', among other wood engravings for Ackermann's 1809 ''Religious Emblems''. By 1818, Nesbit had returned to Swalwell in Durham, though he continued to work as a wood engraver for London and Newcastle booksellers. He engraved a likeness of Bewick, after Nicholson, for Emerson Charnley's ''Select Fables'', 1820; and some excellent reproductions of

William Harvey William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions to anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, pulmonary and systemic circulation ...

's designs for Northcote's ''Fables'', 1828. In 1830 Nesbit returned to London and worked upon Harvey's 'Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green', 1832;

Gilbert White Gilbert White (18 July 1720 – 26 June 1793) was a "parson-naturalist", a pioneering English naturalist, ecologist, and ornithologist. He is best known for his '' Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne''. Life White was born on 18 Jul ...

's ''Selborne'', 1836; and Latrobe's ''Scripture Illustrations'', 1838. Nesbit, perhaps the best of Bewick's pupils, died at Queen's Elm, Brompton, on 11 November 1838.

References

External links

Charlton Nesbit wood engravings
;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Nesbit, Charlton 1775 births 1838 deaths English engravers