Portrait of Mr. Jacob Tonson

Engraver John Faber, the Younger British
After Sir Godfrey Kneller German
1733
Not on view
The sitter holds a large leather bound book to point to his profession. Tonson is best known as a publisher of Shakespeare's plays, acquiring the copyright from the heirs of the publisher of the Fourth Folio. He also was a founding member and secretary of the Kit-Kat Club, building a room to accomodate their meetings in his house at Barn Elms, in Barnes, west of London along the Thames.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Portrait of Mr. Jacob Tonson
  • Engraver: John Faber, the Younger (British, ca. 1695–1756)
  • Artist: After Sir Godfrey Kneller (German, Lübeck 1646–1723 London)
  • Sitter: Jacob Tonson, the Elder (British, London 1655–1736 Barn Elms, Surrey)
  • Date: 1733
  • Medium: Mezzotint
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 14 9/16 × 10 5/8 in. (37 × 27 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.3.756-1242
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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