Thomas Sanders after John Collier (1708-1786) - Engraving Philosopher

Description

An amusing 18th-century satirical print from 'Human Passions Delineated' by the self-proclaimed 'Lancashire Hogarth' Tim Bobbin, a pseudonym of John Collier (1708-1786). Unsigned. Inscribed in pencil to the lower margin. On paper.

Condition

Signs of wear consistent with age, including discolouration, light foxing, pinholes and wear to the edges of the paper. Paperclip impressions to the upper right. Overall, the artwork is in very good condition for its age.

Size

12.5 x 20cm (4.9" x 7.9")
Sheet: 20 x 26cm (7.9" x 10.2")

Collection Information

This series of engravings offers an irreverent portrait of Georgian provincial life, depicting corrupt judges, cheating tradesmen and grotesque drunkards. Published in 1773, the series remains a significant document of 18th-century satirical printmaking.

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Artist Biography

John Collier was born on 18 December 1708 in Urmston, Lancashire, the son of an impoverished curate. At seventeen he moved to Milnrow, near Rochdale, to work as a schoolmaster — a post he held for life. Financial pressure from a wife and nine children drove him to supplement his income through painting and writing, producing inn signs, portraits, and grotesque caricatures which he distributed himself across northern England, reaching as far as the American colonies. Working under the pseudonym Tim Bobbin, he styled himself the "Lancashire Hogarth", a direct claim of kinship with William Hogarth, whose satirical print series were a clear influence. His first publication, A View of the Lancashire Dialect (1746), is recognised as the earliest significant work of Lancashire dialect literature. His second, Human Passions Delineated (Manchester, 1773), combined twenty-six engraved plates with satirical verse, presenting an unflinching panorama of Georgian society — corrupt judges, drunken rustics, avaricious tradesmen, and suffering dental patients — targeting all levels from the labouring poor to the landed gentry. Victorian critics were dismissive, but later assessments recognised in the work a vivid documentary of 18th-century provincial life whose targets — corruption, hypocrisy, and inequality — remain perennially relevant. Collier died on 14 July 1786. The largest collection of his work is held by Touchstones Rochdale; prints from Human Passions Delineated are also in the British Museum.