Frederick William Fairholt (1814 – 3 April 1866) was an English

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic sit ...

and wood-engraver.

Early life

Fairholt was born in London. His father, who was of a German family (the name was originally Fahrholz), was a tobacco manufacturer, and Frederick was at first employed in the business. He then worked as a drawing-master and later as a scene-painter. Pen and ink copies made by him of figures from

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraving, engraver, pictorial social satire, satirist, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from Realism (visual arts), realistic p ...

's plates led to his being employed by Charles Knight on several of his illustrated publications.

Career

Fairholt's first published literary work was a contribution to ''Hone's Year-Book'' in 1831. His life was one of almost uninterrupted quiet labour, carried on until within a few days of death. Several works on civic pageantry and some collections of ancient unpublished songs and dialogues were edited by him for the Percy Society in 1842. In 1844, he was elected fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He published an edition of the dramatic works of

John Lyly John Lyly (; also spelled ''Lilly'', ''Lylie'', ''Lylly''; born c. 1553/54 – buried 30 November 1606)Hunter, G. K. (2004)"Lyly, John (1554–1606)". ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 23 January 2 ...

in 1858. His principal works are ''Tobacco, its History and Association'' (1859); ''Gog and Magog'' (1860); ''Up the Nile and Home Again'' (1862); many articles and serials contributed to the ''Art Journal'', some of which were afterwards separately published, as ''Costume in England'' (1846); and ''Dictionary of Terms in Art'' (1854). These works are illustrated by numerous cuts, drawn on the wood by his own hand. He also illustrated Evans's ''Coins of the Ancient Britons'', Frederic William Madden's ''Jewish Coinage'', Halliwell's folio ''

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 ...

'' and his ''Sir John Maundeville'', Charles Roach Smith's ''Richborough'', the ''Miscellanea Graphica'' of Lord Londesborough, and many other works.

Later life

Fairholt died in 1866 and is buried in

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is since 1852 the first (and only) London cemetery to be Crown Estate, Crown property, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington a ...

, London.

Legacy

His books relating to Shakespeare were bequeathed to the library at

Stratford-on-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-west of ...

; those on civic pageantry (between 200 and 300 volumes) to the Society of Antiquaries; his old prints and works on costume to the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

; his general library he desired to be sold and the proceeds devoted to the

Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its lon ...

Notes

References

External links

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''Costume in England, Vol. 2''
Frederick William Fairholt, 1885, 3rd edn. (George Bell & Sons, London) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fairholt, Frederick William 1814 births 1866 deaths 19th-century English engravers English antiquarians Burials at Brompton Cemetery English non-fiction writers 19th-century English people English male non-fiction writers