Addy, William (bap. 1618
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Article
Addy, William (bap. 1618?, d. 1695?), stenographer and writing-master
Frances Henderson
Article
Ayres, John (d. 1704x9), writing-master
Joyce Irene Whalley
Ayres, John (d. 1704x9), writing-master, according to early accounts began life in a humble way as a footman in the house of Sir William Ashurst, to whom he owed his education. His original teacher of writing was Thomas Topham, to whom he dedicated ...
Article
Bales, Peter (bap. 1547, d. 1610?), writing-master and calligrapher
Lucy Peltz
Bales, Peter (bap. 1547, d. 1610
Article
Beauclerc, Marie Bethell (1845–1897), shorthand reporter and teacher of shorthand
Deborah Simpson
Beauclerc, Marie Bethell (1845–1897), shorthand reporter and teacher of shorthand, was born Maria Bethell at 24 Crescent Street, Somers Town, London, on 10 October 1845, the daughter of Richard Bethell, merchant, and his wife, Elizabeth, née Sayer (1809–1885). As an infant, and in the absence of her parents who had been compelled to go abroad, she was left in the care of a nurse. Later in life, in an account of her childhood, she recollected being taken at the age of four from ...
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Beauclerc, Marie Bethell (1845–1897)
Maker: A. Marlow
In
Marie Bethell Beauclerc (1845–1897) by A. Marlow reproduced with the permission of Birmingham Libraries & Archives
Article
Bickham, George (1683/4–1758), engraver and writing-master
Kim Sloan
Bickham, George (1683/4–1758), engraver and writing-master, was born in London; he was said to have been seventy-four when he died in 1758. The son of John Bickham, whose wife was probably named Bridget, he occasionally used the initials G. J. and G. J. B....
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Bickham, George (1683/4–1758)
Maker: George Bickham
In
George Bickham (1683/44–1758) by George Bickham, pubd 1741 Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Article
Billingsley, Martin (1591–1622), writing master
Lucy Peltz
Billingsley, Martin (1591–1622), writing master, was born in London, the eldest son of Martin Billingsley, a freeman of the Company of Haberdashers, and his wife, Elizabeth. He was baptized on 18 July 1591 at St Antholin's, Budge Row, in the parish where his parents lived. Nothing is known of his youth or education, although one biographer declares he was entirely self-taught. We can also assume that he came from an educated and perhaps comfortable family, as his great-uncle ...
Article
Bland, John (1702–1749), writing master and accountant
Lucy Peltz
Bland, John (1702–1749), writing master and accountant, was born in Crutched Friars, London, on 17 August 1702, the son of a clerk in the custom house. He spent four years at Westminster School, where, according to William Massey, 'he principally formed his hand...
Article
Bowack, John (fl. 1705–1737), writing master and topographer
Gordon Goodwin
revised by J. A. Marchand
Bowack, John (fl. 1705–1737), writing master and topographer, was for many years a writing master at Westminster School. In 1705, when living in Church Lane, Chelsea, he began to publish, in folio numbers, The Antiquities of Middlesex, which contained a description of the church monuments in the county with a historical account of each church and parish, and the seats, villages, and names of the most eminent inhabitants. Two parts of this work appeared in 1705–6, comprising the parishes of ...
Article
Brooks, Gabriel (c. 1704–1741), writing-master
John Westby-Gibson
revised by Lucy Peltz
Brooks, Gabriel (c. 1704–1741), writing-master, was the son of Gabriel Brooks and his wife, Elizabeth. His father was probably a writing-master working in London between 1670 and 1699. There is little information regarding Gabriel Brooks's life or training except that he was apprenticed to the writing-master ...
Article
Browne, David (fl. 1622–1638), writing-master and author
John Westby-Gibson
revised by Lucy Peltz
Browne, David (fl. 1622–1638), writing-master and author, published some of the earliest English copybooks. Though little is known of his life it is likely that he was born in Scotland and his pride in this fact is evident in one surviving manuscript where he signed himself ...
Article
Champion, Joseph (b. 1709, d. in or before 1768), writing-master and accountant
Lucy Peltz
Champion, Joseph (b. 1709, d. in or before 1768), writing-master and accountant, was born in Chatham, Kent, the son of a wealthy Kent family who had been freeholders until they lost their property during the stock market crisis of 1720. Little is known of his early life except that he attended both ...
Article
Clark, John (1683–1736), writing master
Lucy Peltz
Clark, John (1683–1736), writing master, was born in Rotherhithe, the son of ‘Robert Clarke late of the parish of Stepney Old Stebenheath, Midds, marriner’ (Court book, fol. 262r) and Joan. His father was part owner and commander of a ship which traded with the ...
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Davies, John (1564/5–1618)
Maker: unknown engraver
In
John Davies (1564/55–1618) by unknown engraver, pubd 1633 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Article
Davies, John (1564/5–1618), poet and writing-master
P. J. Finkelpearl
Davies, John (1564/5–1618), poet and writing-master, was born at Hereford (his birthplace was always noted on his title-pages—'John Davies of Hereford'—apparently to distinguish him from the prominent contemporary poet Sir John Davies). He was probably born a Roman Catholic and was certainly identified as one in 1611 (...
Article
Dove, Nathaniel (1711–1754), writing master
Lucy Peltz
Dove, Nathaniel (1711–1754), writing master, trained in London under Philip Pickering, a writing master in Paternoster Row. Almost nothing is known of his life, except that he described himself as 'Master of the Academy at Hoxton' (Heal, 46) and was one of the schoolmasters recommended in ...
Article
Gething, Richard (1585?–1652?), writing-master
Lucy Peltz
Gething, Richard (1585
Article
Hopkins, William (fl. 1674), stenographer and writing master
Page Life
Hopkins, William (fl. 1674), stenographer and writing master, wrote The flying pen-man, or, The art of short-writing by a more easie, exact, compendious, and speedy way (1674), using a system related to those of Thomas Shelton, Jeremiah Rich, and especially Theophilus Metcalfe. Beautifully engraved with ornamental borders and a frontispiece portrait of ...
Article
Johnson, Humphrey (fl. 1710–1713), writing-master and mathematician
Lucy Peltz
Johnson, Humphrey (fl. 1710–1713), writing-master and mathematician, is known to have been apprenticed to the celebrated writing-master George Shelley but nothing else is recorded regarding his early life or training. At the time of the first edition of his New Treatise of Practical Arithmetic...
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