View source for William Holl the Elder

{{Short description|British engraver and political radical}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
[[File:William Holl Sr drawing.jpg|thumb|William Holl, drawing c.1830]]
'''William Holl the Elder''' (1771 &ndash; 1 December 1838) was a British engraver, thought to be of German background, and a political radical.
==Life==
Holl was a pupil of [[Benjamin Smith (engraver)|Benjamin Smith]] the engraver, and worked in the [[stipple engraving|stipple]] method.<ref name="DNB">{{cite DNB|wstitle=Holl, William|volume=27}}</ref> He was noted as an exponent of "chalk manner" engraving, based on the simulation of chalk lines on paper.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Mark Bills|author2=Peter Funnell|author3=Jane Sellars |author4=Barbara Bryant|title=Frank Holl: Emerging from the Shadows|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H8UrSW3kXeIC&pg=PA55|date=24 September 2013|publisher=Philip Wilson Publishers|isbn=978-1-78130-016-9|page=55}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/clrflimpr-tech.shtm|title=National Gallery of Art - Colorful Impressions: The Printimaking Revolution in Eighteenth-Century France|accessdate=23 February 2016}}</ref> While with Smith, he had [[Thomas Uwins]] as unwilling pupil.<ref>{{cite ODNB|id=28047|title=Uwins, Thomas|first=Felicity|last=Owens}}</ref>
A progressive in politics, Holl at the time of the [[Spa Fields riots]] in December 1816 took the risk of concealing James Watson, son of [[James Watson (Spencean)|James Watson (1766–1838)]] the radical leader, and aiding his departure for the USA. He was a pioneer in using steel plates for banknotes,<ref name="DNB"/><ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB|id=13512|title=Holl family|first=Hilary|last=Chapman}}</ref>
Holl lived in Bayham Street, [[Camden Town]].<ref name="LPP">{{cite book|author1=Henry Benjamin Wheatley|author-link=Henry Benjamin Wheatley|author2=Peter Cunningham|title=London Past and Present: Its History, Associations, and Traditions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yaRZ1cAMd2UC&pg=PA131|date=24 February 2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-108-02806-6|page=131}}</ref> He died in London, 1 December 1838.
==Works==
[[File:Sir David Brewster. Stipple engraving by W. Holl after Sir H Wellcome V0000763.jpg|thumb|William Holl, engraving of [[Sir David Brewster]] after [[Henry Raeburn]]]]
Holl was noted for his numerous engraved portraits, some being for [[Edmund Lodge]]'s ''Portraits of Illustrious Personages of Great Britain''. He was employed in engraving [[Henry Corbould]]'s drawings of the antique marbles in the [[British Museum]], and engraved, among other subjects, ''The Boar which killed Adonis brought before Venus'', after [[Richard Westall]]. Holl did not push himself forward, and his work often appeared under the name of others.<ref name="DNB"/>
In the 1820s, Holl was one of the early adopters of the steel plate engraving technique pioneered by [[Charles Warren (engraver)|Charles Warren]]; others in the field were [[William Thomas Fry]] and Charles Marr.<ref>{{cite book|author=[[Basil Hunnisett]]|title=Steel-Engraved Book Illustration in England|year=1980|publisher=David R. Godine|isbn=978-0-87923-322-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/steelengravedboo0000hunn/page/24 24]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/steelengravedboo0000hunn/page/24}}</ref>
==Family==
Holl married Mary Ravenscroft, and they had four sons who followed his trade: Benjamin, who practised engraving for a short time; [[William Holl the Younger|William]]; [[Francis Holl|Francis]], A.R.A.; and Charles (died 1882), who also practised as an engraver.<ref name="DNB"/><ref name="ODNB"/> Another son was Henry Holl the actor.<ref name="LPP"/>
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
{{commons category|William Holl}}
'''Attribution'''<!--Please do not reformat, for the sake of those using screen-readers-->
{{DNB|wstitle=Holl, William|volume=27}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holl, William}}
[[Category:1771 births]]
[[Category:1838 deaths]]
[[Category:English engravers]]