Joseph Maclise, Taylor & Walton, and Publishing on Gower Street in the 1840s

• Main Author: William Schupbach
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Yale University 2021-07-01
• Series: British Art Studies
• Online Access: https://www.britishartstudies.ac.uk/issues/issue-index/issue-20/publishing-on-gower-street

The Anatomy of the Arteries of the Human Body (1840–1844), with text by Richard Quain (1800–1887) and lithographs by Joseph Maclise (1815–1880), was Maclise’s first publication, his largest work, and in some ways his most ambitious. How then, could it feature the work of a debutant author? Who were the people involved in its production? What professional skills were required to produce such a work? What factors enabled them to carry it to a successful conclusion? The answer suggested is that much of the burden of production fell upon the publisher, John Taylor (1781–1864), whose previous and current career provided him with the experience required for such a task. Taylor had little experience in lithographic publishing, but his three lithographic publications before The Anatomy of the Arteries of the Human Body proved a good practice ground for the much larger and more accomplished work by Maclise. Taylor was involved not only in his role as the official publisher of University College, London, where Maclise’s work was carried out, but also in the sale of the finished work, and the storage of the lithographic stones. The Anatomy of the Arteries of the Human Body can therefore be understood as a team production, produced in a manner comparable to earlier illustrated anatomy books by Andreas Vesalius and William Hunter.