Samuel Ireland

author

Samuel Ireland

1744–1800

An English engraver, collector, and travel writer, he is remembered both for his picturesque books on British scenery and for his painful connection to the famous Shakespeare forgery scandal created by his son. His life sits at the crossroads of art, publishing, and one of literary history’s strangest hoaxes.

1 Audiobook

Picturesque views on the river Wye, from its source at Plinlimmon Hill, to its junction with the Severn below Chepstow : With observations on the public buildings, and other works of art, in its vicinity

Picturesque views on the river Wye, from its source at Plinlimmon Hill, to its junction with the Severn below Chepstow : With observations on the public buildings, and other works of art, in its vicinity

by Samuel Ireland

About the author

Born in London in 1744, Samuel Ireland began working as a Spitalfields weaver before turning to prints, drawings, and engraving. Largely self-taught as an artist, he built a reputation as a collector and publisher, and became known for illustrated books that celebrated British landscapes, antiquities, and historic buildings.

His best-known works include richly illustrated travel and topographical volumes such as Picturesque Views on the River Thames and Picturesque Views, with an Historical Account, of the Inns of Court, in London and Westminster. Those books helped make him a recognizable figure in late eighteenth-century print culture, blending visual detail with an antiquarian love of place.

Today, though, he is often remembered for a more dramatic episode: Samuel Ireland was the father of William Henry Ireland, whose forged Shakespeare documents briefly convinced many people they were genuine. Samuel accepted and defended the papers, and the controversy overshadowed much of his own work before his death in 1800.