John Ireland (writer) facts for kids

John Ireland (died November 1808) was a British writer. He is best known for his work on the famous artist William Hogarth.

Early Life and Beginnings

John Ireland was born at Trench Farm, a house near Wem in Shropshire. This house was also the birthplace of a playwright named William Wycherley. It is said that Wycherley's widow adopted John Ireland. However, when she died, she did not leave him anything in her will.

John Ireland's mother was the daughter of Reverend Thomas Holland. She was also the granddaughter of Philip Henry, a well-known nonconformist minister.

Becoming a Watchmaker

When he was young, John Ireland became an apprentice to Isaac Wood. Wood was a watchmaker in Shrewsbury. Later, Ireland worked as a watchmaker himself in Maiden Lane, London. He was a familiar face at the Three Feathers coffee-house in Leicester Fields, a popular meeting spot.

Early Writings

In 1785, John Ireland published a poem called The Emigrant. He later said he was sorry for it, explaining that he wrote it when he was very young. He was good friends with the actor John Henderson. In 1786, Ireland published a book of Henderson's Letters and Poems. This book also included interesting stories about Henderson's life.

His Work on William Hogarth

John Ireland greatly admired the artist William Hogarth. He also collected many of Hogarth's artworks.

Hogarth Illustrated

In 1793, a publisher named John Boydell hired Ireland. His job was to edit a book similar to John Trusler's Hogarth Moralised. Ireland's version was called Hogarth Illustrated. The first two volumes of this work came out in 1791. They were reprinted several times in 1793 and 1806.

Creating Hogarth's Biography

Later, Ireland got a lot of important papers and drawings from Mrs. Lewis. She was the person in charge of Mrs. Hogarth's estate after she died. These items had belonged to Hogarth himself. They included the original handwritten copy of The Analysis of Beauty. There were also many notes and sketches Hogarth made about his own life. He had prepared these for a book he planned to write called A History of the Arts.

John Ireland used these materials to write a biography of Hogarth. This biography became the main source for all later books about the artist's life. It was published in 1798 as an extra volume for his Hogarth Illustrated. This extra book was titled Hogarth Illustrated, with Engravings from some hitherto unpublished Drawings. A second edition of this extra volume came out in 1804. The complete work was reprinted again in 1812.

John Ireland passed away in Birmingham in November 1808.

His Collection and Portraits

After John Ireland died, his collection of artworks was sold. It was auctioned off on March 5 and 6, 1810.

Portraits of John Ireland

Several portraits were made of John Ireland:

• One portrait was engraved by Isaac Mills. It was based on a drawing by J. R. Smith. This portrait was later owned by John Bowyer Nichols.
• Another portrait was drawn by his friend J. H. Mortimer. William Skelton then engraved it for Ireland's Hogarth Illustrated. A copy of this portrait by T. Tagg appeared in later reprints of the book.
• A drawing of him by R. Westall, R.A., is kept at the British Museum. The British Museum also has a small drawing of him. This drawing is placed at the beginning of a copy of the auction catalog for his collection.

Some people have said that John Ireland was a print-seller. However, it seems he only dealt with engravings by or after Hogarth, not other artists.