author
Llewellynn Frederick William Jewitt
1816–1886
An energetic Victorian writer and illustrator, he turned a wide range of interests—archaeology, natural history, engraving, and decorative arts—into books that helped shape popular understanding of Britain’s past. Best known today for The Ceramic Art of Great Britain, he was also a lively editor and collector whose work reached far beyond a single field.
5 Audiobooks
The Stately Homes of England
by Llewellynn Frederick William Jewitt, S. C. (Samuel Carter) Hall
English Coins and Tokens, with a Chapter on Greek and Roman Coins
by Llewellynn Frederick William Jewitt, Barclay V. (Barclay Vincent) Head
Grave-mounds and Their Contents A Manual of Archæology, as Exemplified in the Burials of the Celtic, the Romano-British, and the Anglo-Saxon Periods
by Llewellynn Frederick William Jewitt
About the author
Born at Kimberworth near Rotherham on November 24, 1816, and raised largely in Duffield, Derbyshire, he grew up in a strongly artistic and literary family. His father, Arthur Jewitt, was an artist, author, and schoolmaster, and that early education helped set him on a path as both a skilled draughtsman and a remarkably productive man of letters.
During his career, he worked as an illustrator, engraver, antiquary, natural scientist, and author. His writing ranged across archaeology, history, folklore, and the decorative arts, and he became especially associated with The Reliquary, the antiquarian journal he edited for many years. His best-known book, The Ceramic Art of Great Britain (1878), remains one of the works most closely linked with his name.
What makes him memorable is the breadth of his curiosity. Rather than staying in one narrow specialty, he brought together visual skill and historical enthusiasm, helping Victorian readers see everyday objects, old customs, and material culture as worth serious attention. He died on June 5, 1886, leaving behind an unusually varied body of work.