140 Mr. Atkinson's Sketch of the late T. Bewick. 



In 1818, twenty-five copies of the Quadrupeds, were taken on 4to. paper 

 by Walker, price £2. 2s, in sheets. In addition to the Wild Bull, for Mr. 

 TuNSTALL, he cut the Lion, Tiger, Elephant, and Zebra, on large blocks, 

 in 1799, for Mr. Pidcock, who was at Newcastle with his Menagerie at 

 that time. From these, Bewick had 150 impressions of the Lion, 200 

 of tlie Tiger, 250 of the Elephant, and 150 of the Zebra, struck off be- 

 fore they were put into Mr. Pidcock's hands. The Lion he engraved 

 thrice afterwards ; once, a plain reverse in position to the one above- 

 mentioned, again in a different attitude, and one a little smaller couchant. 

 He also engraved, on a large block, the design of a Six-horse Waggon 

 descending a Hill, for some person at Leeds, who objected to the price 

 when it was sent to him, and returned it ; in its passage to or from 

 Leeds, the block was injured, which irritated Bewick considerably. 

 . At the time of his death he was engaged in a beautiful style of wood- 

 cutting, on large blocks, which had for its object to effect a humane im- 

 provement in the condition of the Horse, an animal so essentially useful 

 to us, yet, in many cases, so inconsiderately neglected and abused. It 

 occurred to him that any cheap representation of this animal, in a state 

 of evident suffering from want of care and ill treatment, executed with 

 sufficient force to strike the recollection, and awaken the better feelings 

 of those to whom he is usually intrusted, would tend more than any 

 thing to ameliorate his condition. The model he followed, in the exe- 

 cution of this plan, was, " The old Horse waiting for Death," introduced 

 in the Fables as a vignette. He employed for it four blocks joined to- 

 gether, and backed with two transverse layers of Mahogany, to prevent 

 them from warping, forming a large block of about ten inches by eight. 

 On this he designed, in his happiest style, a wretched old horse, in view 

 of all the comforts of the farm-yard, but without the power of attaining 

 them : an old stone wall, quite a new subject, as he remarked, interven- 

 ing. In this print, he intended to adopt the use of, at least, two blocks. 

 On the first, which was almost finished when he died, he cut the subject 

 in a crude unfinished manner, orrAtting the effects of shade, so that the 

 impression conveyed the idea of an unfinished engraving. An impres- 

 sion of this he intended, while damp, to apply to another block, of similar 

 dimensions, which was to be devoted to shade and dark effect alone. 



