Introduction
Elizabeth Jackson (active 1783-1788 in London) was a London print seller, significant in particular for being the publisher of nearly seventy prints by the young Thomas Rowlandson in the mid 1780s.
Biography
Jackson operated from premises at 14 Marylebone Street, Golden Square between 1783 and 1788. There is a Trade card in the Banks Collectionfor "Jackson. No.14, Marylebone Street, Golden Square, London. Prints Wholesale & Retail.".She was one of a number of woman publishers who ran successful print selling businesses in 18th century London; others include Mary Darly,Hannah Humphrey, Mrs Lay, Susan Vivares and Elizabeth D'Archery.
Her output was mostly non-political, and includes cuttingsatires of the husband and wife artistsRichard Cosway and Maria Cosway . There are nearly 45 differentprintpublished by Jackson in the British Museum, includinga number of caricatures; severalof her prints were also published by Thomas Cornell.Her output in the mid 1780sincluded three significant series of Thomas Rowlandson's works that helped establish his career as a printmaker:
- The Rhedarium (1784). A series of nine prints depicting different types of carriages.
- The Picturesque Beauties of Boswell (1786); a series of sixteen illustrationsfor James Boswell's The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides,after designs by Samuel Collings, described in theCatalogue of Political and Personal Satires Preserved in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum.
- Twelve Etchings / by T. Rowlandson (1786). A series of twelve etchings in a printed wrapper with Jackson's address and a price (Ten Shillings and Six Pence). The series included both caricature and non caricatures plates and two prints have the imprint of Thomas Cornell.
A number of Jackson's plates were acquired by S.W.Fores in the late 1780s and reissued by him with modified lettering.