David Claypoole Johnston (25 March 1798 – 8 November 1865) was an 19th-century American cartoonist, printmaker, painter and actor from Boston, Massachusetts. He was the first natively trained American to master all the various graphic arts processes of lithography, etching, metal plate engraving, and wood engraving.[1][2]
In 1815 Johnston has studied engraving as an apprentice of successful Philadelphia engraver Francis Kearney, and became himself an engraver of original caricatures, which were too controversial for publishing. In 1821 he switched to a theatrical career, appearing for the first time at the Walnut street theatre on 10 March 1821, as Henry in "Speed the Plow." He performed for five seasons with theatre companies in Philadelphia and Boston.
Afterward he retired from the stage and set up an engraver's office in Boston. His most important early work, was a series of etched and lithographed character portraits of well-known American and British actors. In years between 1828 and 1849 he published nine numbers of his annual comic "Scraps," made of five plates, each containing nine or ten separate humorous sketches.
References
1. ^ American Antiquarian Society. David Claypoole Johnston Family Illustrated Box List. Retrieved 4 January 2010
2. ^ Tatham. 1987.
Further reading
Works by Johnston
§ Boston Monthly Magazine, June 1825-May 1826. v.1 no.8-v.2 no.2 (Jan.-July 1826)
§ American comic annual. v.1 (1831). Illustrated by Johnston.
§ Timothy Titterwell. Yankee Notions: a Medley, 4th ed. 1847. Illustrated by Johnston.
Works about Johnston
§ Malcolm Johnson. David Claypool Johnston: American Graphic Humorist, 1798-1865. Lunenburg, Vermont: Stinehour Press, 1970.
§ David Tatham. David Claypoole Johnston's "Militia Muster." American Art Journal, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Spring, 1987), pp. 4–15.
§ Jennifer A. Greenhill. Playing the Fool: "David Claypoole Johnston and the Menial Labor of Caricature". American Art, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Autumn, 2003), pp. 33–51.
External links
§ WorldCat
§ American Antiquarian Society. David Claypoole Johnston online exhibit, 2003.
§ American Antiquarian Society. Flickr. Johnston images.
§ Syracuse University Library. "David Claypool Johnston (1798-1865)" page in "Draw your own conclusions" exhibit.
§ http://www.americanantiquarian.org/Inventories/Portraits/72.htm
