| Administrative History | George Murgatroyd Woodward was born c.1765 and grew up in Stanton by Dale, Derbyshire. His father William Woodward was land agent to Earl Stanhope of Chevening, and by 1787 George was working on the Earl's estates in Buckinghamshire. Woodward published his first caricatures from his family home in London in 1785. It was not until 1791 that he resigned his position with Earl Stanhope in order to be able to dedicate more time to caricaturing.
Woodward produced work for many of the best known printsellers of the time, including Holland, Fores, Tegg and Ackermann. Because he was untrained as an artist, Woodward always relied on other artists to transfer his designs on to copperplates for printing, and this led to collaborations with artists such as Thomas Rowlandson, Isaac Cruikshank and Richard Newton.
He died on 5 November 1809 at the Brown Bear Tavern, Bow Street, Covent Garden. He was buried at St Paul's Covent Garden.
One of Woodward's first published books was 'Eccentric Excursions', published in 1797. A copy of the book at Radbourne Hall, Derbyshire, contains a dedication to Woodward's father, in which he explains his motivation for writing:
"Encouraged by public favour … I have been induced to attempt the combination of Literary Remarks with illustrations and characteristic designs."
'Eccentric Excursions' proved to be very popular, going through several editions. A copy of the 1817 edition is held in the Strutt Collection (STRUTT/B/123).
Several of Woodward's books satirise the obsession with etiquette; these include his 'Chesterfield travestie, or, School for modern manners' and the 'The Olio of good breeding, with sketches illustrative of the modern graces' of 1801. He also mocks the excessive attention paid to actors and singers. 'The Musical Mania! For 1802' depicts popular imitation of the singer Mrs Billington, whilst 'The Bettyad' of 1805 satirises the extreme popularity of the child-actor Master Betty.
'The Fugitive', of 1805, collected together texts previously published in conjunction with illustrations, with some of Woodward's verses. Of interest is the list of subscribers at the end of the book. In 1802 Woodward's father was dismissed by Earl Stanhope after a dissatisfied employee submitted a list of accusations against him, including that he had engaged in business dealings behind the Earl's back. Nevertheless, the list of subscribers in 1805 includes the Earl, who bought two copies of the book.
'The Art of Ingeniously Tormenting', was written by Jane Collier, and first published in 1753. Woodward provided several illustrations for an edition first published by Tegg in 1808, then again in 1809. |
| Custodial History | The collection was transferred from Derby Local Studies Library in August 2003. |