author
William Andrew Chatto
1799–1864
A lively Victorian man of letters, he moved from business into full-time writing and editing, producing books that ranged from fishing and tobacco to playing cards and wood engraving. His work has an appealing curiosity about everyday culture and the crafts behind it.
2 Audiobooks
Facts and Speculations on the Origin and History of Playing Cards
by William Andrew Chatto
A Treatise on Wood Engraving, Historical and Practical
by William Andrew Chatto, Henry G. (Henry George) Bohn, John Jackson
About the author
Born in Newcastle upon Tyne on April 17, 1799, he was educated at a grammar school in the north and first went into business. Around 1830 he took over a cousin’s tea-dealing firm in London, but by 1834 he had left commerce to write professionally.
He wrote both under his own name and under the pseudonym Stephen Oliver, Junior. His best-known works include A Treatise on Wood Engraving, Historical and Practical, created with engraver John Jackson, and Facts and Speculations on the Origin and History of Playing Cards. He also edited the New Sporting Magazine from 1839 to 1841 and published lighter, wide-ranging books on subjects such as angling and tobacco.
That mix of practical knowledge, antiquarian interest, and readable style makes his work a distinctive part of 19th-century nonfiction. He died on February 15, 1864, and is buried in Highgate Cemetery in London.