John Kay (caricaturist)
Encyclopedia
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
caricaturist
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
and engraver.
He was born near Dalkeith
Dalkeith
Dalkeith is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the River North Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540...
, where his father was a mason. At thirteen he was apprenticed to a barber
Barber
A barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop....
, whom he served for six years. He then went to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, where in 1771 he obtained the freedom of the city by joining the corporation of barber-surgeons. In 1785, induced by the favour which greeted certain attempts of his to etch in aquafortis, he took down his barber's pole and opened a small print shop in Parliament Square. There he continued to flourish, painting miniatures, and publishing at short intervals his sketches and caricatures of local celebrities and oddities, who abounded at that period in Edinburgh society.
Kay's portraits were collected by Hugh Paton and published under the title A series of original portraits and caricature etchings by the late John Kay, with biographical sketches and illustrative anecdotes (Edinburgh, 2 vols. 4to, 1838; 8vo ed., 4 vols., 1842; new 4to ed., with additional plates, 2 vols., 1877), forming a unique record of the social life and popular habits of Edinburgh at its most interesting epoch.
Some Persons Caricatured by Kay
- Joseph BlackJoseph BlackJoseph Black FRSE FRCPE FPSG was a Scottish physician and chemist, known for his discoveries of latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was professor of Medicine at University of Glasgow . James Watt, who was appointed as philosophical instrument maker at the same university...
- Hugh BlairHugh BlairHugh Blair FRSE was a Scottish minister of religion, author and rhetorician, considered one of the first great theorists of written discourse....
- John BrownJohn Brown (doctor)John Brown was a Scottish physician.Brown was born in Berwickshire and after attending the parish school at Duns, he moved to Edinburgh and enrolled in divinity classes at the university of Edinburgh and worked part time as a private tutor...
- James Burnett, Lord MonboddoJames Burnett, Lord MonboddoJames Burnett, Lord Monboddo was a Scottish judge, scholar of linguistic evolution, philosopher and deist. He is most famous today as a founder of modern comparative historical linguistics . In 1767 he became a judge in the Court of Session. As such, Burnett adopted an honorary title based on his...
- Alexander CarlyleAlexander CarlyleVery Rev Alexander Carlyle was a Scottish church leader, and autobiographer.He was born in Cummertrees, Dumfriesshire, the son of the local minister and brought up in Prestonpans, East Lothian. He was a witness to the Battle of Prestonpans in 1745 where he was part of the government Edinburgh...
- James DonaldsonJames DonaldsonSir James Donaldson , was a Scottish classical scholar, and educational and theological writer.He was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School, Marischal College, Aberdeen, New College, London, and Berlin University...
- Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount MelvilleHenry Dundas, 1st Viscount MelvilleHenry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville PC and Baron Dunira was a Scottish lawyer and politician. He was the first Secretary of State for War and the last person to be impeached in the United Kingdom....
- Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount MelvilleRobert Dundas, 2nd Viscount MelvilleRobert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville KT, PC, FRS was a British statesman, the son of Henry Dundas, the 1st Viscount. Dundas was the Member of Parliament for Hastings in 1794, Rye in 1796 and Midlothian in 1801. He was also Keeper of the Signet for Scotland from 1800...
- Alexander GerardAlexander GerardAlexander Gerard , philosophical writer, son of Rev. Gilbert Gerard, was educated at Aberdeen, where he became Professor, first of Natural Philosophy at Marischal College in 1750, and afterwards between 1760–1771 of Divinity, taking up the post of Professor of Divinity at King's College in 1771. As...
- Alexander Gordon, Lord RockvilleAlexander Gordon, Lord RockvilleAlexander Gordon, Lord Rockville was a Scottish judge.Rockville was the youngest son of William Gordon, 2nd Earl of Aberdeen, by his third wife Lady Anne, daughter of Alexander Gordon, 2nd Duke of Gordon...
- Francis GroseFrancis GroseFrancis Grose was an English antiquary, draughtsman, and lexicographer. He was born at his father's house in Broad Street, St-Peter-le-Poer, London, son of a Swiss immigrant and jeweller, Francis Jacob Grose , and his wife, Anne , daughter of Thomas Bennett of Greenford in Middlesex...
- Henry Home, Lord KamesHenry Home, Lord KamesHenry Home, Lord Kames was a Scottish advocate, judge, philosopher, writer and agricultural improver. A central figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, a founder member of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, and active in the Select Society, his protégés included James Boswell, David Hume and...
- James HuttonJames HuttonJames Hutton was a Scottish physician, geologist, naturalist, chemical manufacturer and experimental agriculturalist. He is considered the father of modern geology...
- Vincenzo LunardiVincenzo LunardiVicenzo Lunardi was born in Lucca, Italy. His family were of minor Neapolitan nobility, and his father had married late in life. Vicenzo was one of three children...
- Sam McDonaldSam McDonaldSam McDonald , called "Big Sam", was a Scotsman of unusual height for his day who had a distinguished military career and was a noted "strongman". Most sources state his height as 6 feet 10 inches, with a burly build, although one 1822 source claims 7 feet 4 inches...
- William RobertsonWilliam Robertson (historian)William Robertson FRSE FSA was a Scottish historian, minister of religion, and Principal of the University of Edinburgh...
- Sarah SiddonsSarah SiddonsSarah Siddons was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. She was the elder sister of John Philip Kemble, Charles Kemble, Stephen Kemble, Ann Hatton and Elizabeth Whitlock, and the aunt of Fanny Kemble. She was most famous for her portrayal of the Shakespearean character,...
- Adam SmithAdam SmithAdam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...