138 Mr. Atkinson's Sketch of the late T. Bemck. 



Arts. The advertisement for the publication of this, announces, " a 

 new and elegant edition of Gay's Fables, in 8vo., on fine writing fools- 

 cap, adorned with veri/ curious cuts, and a finely engraved frontispiece ; 

 some of these cuts have gained the premium of the Royal Society, price 

 3s. neatly bound in white sheep, and 3s. 6d. bound in calf." About 

 the same time, he executed the cuts for a small child's book, entitled 

 " A pretty Book of Pictures for little Masters and Misses, or Tommy 

 Trip's History of Beasts and Birds ;" the cuts in this work (62 in 

 number) are many of them very beautiful, and are faithful representa- 

 tions of the animals therein described. It is to this little book, which 

 is exceedingly scarce that we are indebted for his more finished and 

 celebrated productions, the History of Quadrupeds, and the British 

 Birds. 



In 1783, he cut the blocks for Select Fables, published by Saint. 

 These, and some cut for the works before mentioned, were, at the de- 

 cease of Hall and Elliott, successors to Saint, sold to Wilson and 

 Spence, of York, but some years afterwards came into the possession 

 of Mr. Charnley, of Newcastle, who had them retouched by Charlton 

 Nesbit, and published them in 1820, in the Select Fables, uniform 

 with Bewick's other works. 



On the 20th April, 1786, he married Isabella, daughter of Robert 

 Elliott, of Ovingham, at St. John's Church : by her he had four chil- 

 dren, who are all now alive. 



In 1789, he designed and engraved the Chillingham Wild Bull, for 

 Marmaduke Tunstall, Esq., in which he introduced, for the only 

 time, a specimen of cross-hatching, on a stone in the foreground. The 

 first impressions taken from this block were four on thin vellum, and a 

 few on paper before he affixed his name. One of these four Bewick 

 kept himself; Mr. John Bell got one ; Mr. Beilby one, which was 

 sold in London for £20. ; and the late Mr. Solomon Hodgson another, 

 which was sold to Earl Spencer. Very shortly after these impressions 

 were taken (I believe, between the Saturday night and Monday morn- 

 ing), the block, consisting of four squares of box-wood, split and warp- 

 ed, by exposure to the sun. Though this accident was in some measure 



