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Article: Boy wonder of the Golden Age: Mark Bryant sketches the brief life of one of 18th-century London's most prodigious and daring draughtsmen.(CARTOON TIMES)(Richard Newton)
- Article from:
- History Today
- Article date:
- May 1, 2009
- Author:
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[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Almost exactly two centuries ago, on February 1st, 1809, the celebrated artist Thomas Rowlandson, who was one of the stars of the so-called 'Golden Age of Caricature', lampooned the elaborate dress of dockyard prostitutes in a print entitled 'Launching a Frigate'. It was based on a drawing by one of Britain's most original caricaturists, who began work at the age of 14 and later succeeded Lord Byron's uncle as the main draughtsman of a top London printseller. One of the first British artists to draw Napoleon Bonaparte (before James Gillray), he was also a pioneer of the modern comic strip, worked as a book illustrator and went on to set up ...