The Etching Club (also known as Etching Club, the London Etching Club, and the British Etching Club; or the Junior Etching Club for its younger membership grouped separately) was an artists' society founded in London, England, in 1838 by

Charles West Cope Charles West Cope (28 July 1811– 21 August 1890) was an English, Victorian era painter of genre and history scenes, and an etcher. He was responsible for painting several frescos in the House of Lords in London. Life and work Early lif ...

. It was part of the

Etching Revival The etching revival was the re-emergence and invigoration of etching as an original form of printmaking during the period approximately from 1850 to 1930. The main centres were France, Britain and the United States, but other countries, such as t ...

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proces ...

. The club published illustrated editions of works by authors such as

Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish poet, novelist, playwright, and hack writer. A prolific author of various literature, he is regarded among the most versatile writers of the Georgian e ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

and

Thomas Gray Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, and classics, classical scholar at Cambridge University, being a fellow first of Peterhouse then of Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke College. He is widely ...

in small editions, normally using actual

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other type ...

s rather reproductions of them by other techniques. It effectively ceased to exist in 1878.Lang, p. 39.

Membership

Richard Ansdell Richard Ansdell (11 May 1815 – 20 April 1885) was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British painter of animals and genre work, genre scenes. Life Ansdell was born in Liverpool (then in Lancashire), the son of Thomas Griffiths ...

Thomas Oldham Barlow Thomas Oldham Barlow (4 August 1824 – 24 December 1889) was an English mezzotint engraver. His prints helped to popularise the works of painters like John Phillip and Sir John Everett Millais. Biography Barlow was born in Oldham in Lanca ...

(1811–1890) *

Thomas Creswick Thomas Creswick (5 February 181128 December 1869) was a British landscape, landscapist and illustrator, and one of the best-known members of the Birmingham School (landscape artists), Birmingham School of landscapists. Biography Creswick was bo ...

* William Charles Thomas Dobson * Edwin Austin Forbes (1839–1895) (Honorary member) *

William Edward Frost William Edward Frost (September 1810 – 4 June 1877) was an English painter of the Victorian era. Virtually alone among English artists in the middle Victorian period, he devoted his practice to the portrayal of the female nude. Frost w ...

* Francis Seymour Haden *

James Clarke Hook James Clarke Hook (21 November 1819 – 14 April 1907) was an England, English painting, painter and etching, etcher of Marine art, marine, genre#Visual arts, genre and History painting, historical scenes, and Landscape art, landscapes. Life ...

John Callcott Horsley John Callcott Horsley (29 January 1817 – 18 October 1903) was a British academic Painting, painter of genre painting, genre and historical scenes, illustrator, and designer of the first Christmas card. He was a member of the artist's colony ...

* William Henry Hunt *

William Holman Hunt William Holman Hunt (2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910) was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings were notable for their great attention to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolism ...

John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest s ...

* George B. O'Neill *

Samuel Palmer Samuel Palmer Hon.RE (Hon. Fellow of the Society of Painter-Etchers) (27 January 180524 May 1881) was a British landscape painter, etcher and printmaker. He was also a prolific writer. Palmer was a key figure in Romanticism in Britain and p ...

Richard Redgrave Richard Redgrave (30 April 1804 in Pimlico, London – 14 December 1888 in Kensington, London) was an English landscape artist, genre painter, and administrator. Early life He was born in Pimlico, London, at 2 Belgrave Terrace, the second son ...

(1804–1888) * Frank Stone * John Frederick Tayler (1806–1889) * Henry James Townsend (1810–1890) * Thomas Webster

Publications of The Etching Club

''The Deserted Village''
( Joseph Cundall, 1855 with reproductions – first pub. 1841 with the original etchings). *

. ''The Vicar of Wakefield''. * Bolton Corney. ''

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 ...

's poetical works'' (1845). *

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. ''Songs of Shakespeare'' (1843). *

. ''The Ballads of Shakespeare'' (1852). *

. ''L'Allegro and Il ponseroso'' (1849). *

.
Elegy written in a country churchyard
' (1847). *The Etching Club. ''Etched thoughts'' (1844) *The Etching Club. ''Etchings for the Art-Union of London by The Etching Club'' (London: Art Union of London, 1857). *The Etching Club. ''A selection of etchings by the etchings club'' (Joseph Cundall, 1865).

Publications of the Junior Etching Club

*Junior Etching Club. ''Passages from Modern English Poets (Forty-Seven Etchings)'' (London: William Tegg, 1875);

Alaric Alexander Watts Alaric Alexander Watts (16 March 1797 – 5 April 1864) was a British poet and journalist, born in London. His life was dedicated to newspaper creation and editing, and he was seen as a conservative writer. His newspaper ventures failed and ...

References and bibliography

*Cope, H. W.
Reminiscences of Charles West Cope, R. A.
(London: Bentley, 1891) p. 35 ff. *Ray, Gordon Norton. ''The Illustrator and the Book in England from 1790 to 1914'' Dover Publications, 1992) p. 139 ff. *Lang, Gladys Engel & Lang, Kurt. ''Etched in memory: the building and survival of artistic reputation'' (University of Illinois Press, 2001) p. 37 ff. *Fredericksen, A. ''The Etching Club of London: a taste for painters' etchings'' (exhibition catalogue, 2002).

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Etching Club British artist groups and collectives 1838 establishments in England Arts organizations established in 1838 Etching 1878 disestablishments in England Arts organizations disestablished in the 19th century Organizations disestablished in 1878 Cultural organisations based in London Defunct organisations based in London 19th century in London