John Collier (18 December 1708 – 14 July 1786) was an English

caricaturist A caricaturist is an artist who specializes in drawing caricatures. List of caricaturists * Abed Abdi (born 1942) * Abril Lamarque (1904–1999) * Al Hirschfeld (1903–2003) * Alex Gard (1900–1948) * Alexander Saroukhan (1898–1977) * Alfre ...

and satirical poet known by the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

of Tim Bobbin, or Timothy Bobbin. Collier styled himself as the Lancashire Hogarth.

Life and career

Born in Urmston,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, the son of an impoverished curate, he moved to Milnrow at the age of 17 to work as a schoolmaster. Marriage and nine children meant he needed to supplement his income and he began producing illustrated satirical poetry in

Lancashire dialect The Lancashire dialect (or colloquially, Lanky) refers to the Northern English vernacular speech of the English county of Lancashire. The region is notable for its tradition of poetry written in the dialect. Scope of Lancashire dialect ...

and a book of dialect terms. His first and most famous work, ''A View of the Lancashire Dialect, or, Tummus and Mary'', appeared in 1746, and is the earliest significant piece of Lancashire dialect to be published. He regularly travelled to

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

to sell his work in the local pubs where most of the business of Rochdale was conducted as there was no cloth hall at that time. People in the pubs would ask him to draw portraits of them and their friends and he would charge on the basis of the number of heads in the picture. The Lancashire dialect poetry collection, ''Human Passions Delineated'', a work which he both wrote and illustrated, appeared in 1773. In it he savagely lampooned the behaviour of upper and lower classes alike. The etchings were widely reproduced, and some were printed on ceramics of the time,Lionel Burman, "Rochdale: Enter Tim Bobbin..." ''Burlington Magazine'', Vol. 122, No. 927 (Jun., 1980), pp. 449,451–452 and a colourised reproduction of 25 of the plates was published in 1810. He died in 1786 leaving the sum of £50 and was buried in the churchyard of Rochdale Parish Church, St. Chad's. He wrote his own epitaph 20 minutes before he died, "Jack of all trades...left to lie i'th dark" which is inscribed upon his gravestone. He had also written a number of other humorous epitaphs for graves, a number of which can still be seen in St. Chad's churchyard. In 1792

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

visited the grave and suggested that a public subscription be raised to refurbish it. One thousand people donated a £1-0s–0d each, the tombstone was raised and a fence erected around the grave. A ceremony was arranged, which was attended by many eminent people including a number of Lancashire dialect poets who acknowledged their debt to the first of their number, Tim Bobbin.

Works

*''A View of the Lancashire Dialect, or, Tummus and Mary'' – 1746 *''Remarks on the reign of George II'' – 1760 *''Human Passions Delineated in above 120 Figures, Droll, Satyrical and Humorous'' – 1773 *''The Lancashire Dialect; or the Whimsical Adventures and Misfortunes of a Lancashire Clown'' – 1775

References

Notes

Bibliography

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