William Henry Holbrooke, Engraver

(fl. 1821-1848)

Engraver

From A Dictionary of Irish Artists 1913

Son of the foregoing, was born in Dublin in 1805. He entered the Dublin Society's School in 1821, and afterwards joined his father as assistant and eventually as partner. Some time after his father's death he moved from Anglesea Street to 115 Grafton Street, and later to 4 Crow Street. He was lithographer to the Bank of Ireland, and from 1838 styled himself engraver, lithographer, seal-cutter and print-seller to the Queen in Ireland." He lithographed and published at 15 Anglesea Street, in 1832, a portrait of "Marcus Costello," who was imprisoned in Kilmainham for his opposition to tithe-collecting. J. McCormick, 16 Christchurch Place, published in 1844 a lithograph sketched by W. Holbrooke of "The Triumphant Procession of O'Connell and Fellow-martyrs on their liberation from the Richmond Bridewell," 12 by 19 inches. Holbrooke also did a number of roughly executed coloured lithographs of various events of the day, such as the "Interment of the first Repeal Martyr, the Rev. Peter James Tyrrell, P.P., in the Catholic Church, Lusk, on December 7th, 1843"; and also such things as "The Siege of Limerick," "The Battle of Clontarf," and a portrait of "Brian Boru"; and he lithographed a drawing by H. MacManus of "Ellen Wynne tried for the murder of her husband, August, 1842," all roughly-done catchpenny productions. He also did a large coloured lithograph of O'Connell in his robes as Lord Mayor, which he published in 1842. Holbrooke joined with one Thomas Mooney, a baker of Francis Street, in starting the Providence Bank, an enterprise which failed. He went to America in 1848 and is not again heard of. His business was continued for a time by Thomas Forster (q.v.).

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