David Claypoole Johnston

Johnston was born in Philadelphia, the son of William Johnston and Charlotte Rowson, an actress who was sister-in-law of author actress and educator Susanna Rowson. In 1815, Johnston had studied engraving as an apprentice of Philadelphia engraver Francis Kearney, and he himself became an engraver of original caricatures, which were too controversial for publishing. In 1821, he switched to a theatrical career, appearing for the first time at the Walnut Street Theatre on 10 March 1821, as Henry in Speed the Plough. He performed for five seasons with theatre companies in Philadelphia and Boston.

Afterward, he retired from the stage and set up an engraver's office in Boston. His most important early work was a series of etched and lithographed character portraits of well-known American and British actors. In the years between 1829 and 1849, he published nine numbers of his annual comic Scraps, made of four plates, each containing nine or ten separate humorous sketches.

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  From: Yankee Notions 1838
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  "Benoni Burdock was a bitter man." From: Yankee Notions 1838
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  Exhibition of Cabinet Pictures
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  Richard III, 1828
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  "Anti-Masonic Convention in Valdimor," cover illustration of Corner-Stone March, as Performed by the Boston Brigade Band, 1832
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  A Young Head on Old Shoulders. From: "Little Joe Junk and the Fisherman's Daughter" by John Neal in Brother Jonathan, March 12, 1842
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  Women's Fumigatory Rights. From: Scraps, 1849
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  At the Waterfall, ca.1850 watercolor
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  Lola Has Come, ca.1852
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  "The House That Jeff Built", denunciation of Jefferson Davis and slavery, 1863

• Scraps (nine editions, 1829-1849).
• American comic annual. v.1 (1831). Illustrated by Johnston.
• Timothy Titterwell. Yankee Notions: a Medley, 4th ed. 1847. Illustrated by Johnston.

• Malcolm Johnson. David Claypool Johnston: American Graphic Humorist, 1798-1865. Lunenburg, Vermont: Stinehour Press, 1970.
• David Tatham. David Claypoole Johnston's "Militia Muster." American Art Journal, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Spring, 1987), pp. 4–15.
• Jennifer A. Greenhill. Playing the Fool: "David Claypoole Johnston and the Menial Labor of Caricature". American Art, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Autumn, 2003), pp. 33–51.

• WorldCat. Johnston, David Claypoole 1799–1865
• American Antiquarian Society. David Claypoole Johnston online exhibit, 2003.
• American Antiquarian Society. Flickr. Johnston images.
• Syracuse University Library. "David Claypool Johnston (1798-1865)" page in "Draw your own conclusions" exhibit.
• American Antiquarian Society. Portrait of Thomas Murphy Johnston by Johnston