James Basire

James Basire, also known as James Basire Sr., was a British engraver. He is the most significant of a family of engravers, and noted for his apprenticing of the young William Blake.

A member of the Society of Antiquaries, James Basire specialized in prints depicting architecture. His studio was on Great Queen Street in London. His appointment as engraver to the society, as were all three generations, and much of his finest work is found in Vetusta Monumenta. A major piece was his copperplate for Field of the Cloth of Gold, an exquisitely detailed translation of a watercolour by Edward Edwards; this oversize historical print was issued on 'Antiquarian' paper. Excellent work also appeared in Richard Gough's Sepulchral Monuments.

Text courtesy of Wikipedia, 2023