Thomas Johnston (1708–1767) was an engraver, japanner, heraldic painter, and a church organ builder. He is noted for making the first historical print engraved in America and being the first person who manufactured church organs as a regular business in America.
Biography
Johnston was born in 1708 in Boston, Massachusetts.[1] He was an engraver, an ornamental painter, a japanner, a coats of arms painter, a book publisher and a builder of organs.[2] He decorated clocks and furniture with embossed or raised work representing Chinese images. He was a skillful engraver and heraldic painting. He sold London Glasses of all sorts and sizes in 1732 as a japanner at the Golden Lyon on Ann Street near the downtown Dock Square in Boston.[3]
Johnston lived in his house on the west side of Brattle Square, across the street from the tower of the Brattle Street Church. He was a member of that church since June 5, 1726, and involved with various aspects of liturgical music.[3] His workshop was in the backyard of his home where he did painting, engraving, and organ construction.[4]
Johnston was the first reported person who manufactured church organs as a regular business in Colonial America and is called the first professional organ builder.[5] The Old North Church in Boston had an imported organ in 1736 obtained originally by William Claggett.[6] They made an agreement with Johnston in 1752 to build an American organ that would be as loud as that of the Boston Trinity Church that would replace Claggett's old worn out organ.[4] He constructed the organ in 1758 - 1759.[7][8] This was the first organ made by an American.[5][9]
Engravings
Johnston was a self-taught engraver. He engraved copper event scenes, views, trade cards, certificates, currency, plans, buildings, maps, music, and book illustrations.[10] His earliest known engraving work is his Plan of Boston of 1729, dedicated to Massachusetts governor William Burnet.[1] He engraved the first view of Yale College.[11] His most famous apprentice was the artist John Greenwood.[12]
Johnston made the first historical print engraved in America, [13][14][15] which consisted of a battle near Lake George in the north of the Province of New York. The battle scene was originally drawn out by Samuel Blodgett - A prospective plan of the battle fought near Lake George on the 8th of September 1755. He was a witness at the event.[16] Blodgett persuaded Johnston, a well known Boston engraver, to engrave his sketch on copper so the printer Richard Draper would print it.[17] The scene was printed and published in Boston. It was sold by Blodgett starting December 22nd, 1755.[18][19][20] Johnston's engraving of the Lake George battle shows to the left a bird's eye view of the march of troops. To the right side of the engraving is a view of a camp and a battle. The map shows Hudson River and plans of Fort William Henry and Fort Edward. The engraving was 13 5/8 by 17 1/2 inches (34.6 X 44.6 cm).[21] It came with an eight page pamphlet that explained all about the historical event.[22] It was reprinted in London by Thomas Jefferys for publication in 1756 with the plan and the eight page pamphlet.[23]
Some of Johnston's several dozen engravings -
- Trade card of Samuel Grant, 1736
- A Plan of Cape Breton, & Fort Louisbourgh, 1745
- Chart of Canada River from ye Island of Anticosty, 1746
- Prospect of Yale College, 1749
- A True Coppy from an Ancient Plan of E. Hutchinson’s, 1753
- Plan of the Kennebeck and Sagadahock Rivers, 1753
- A Prospective Plan of the Battle Fought Near Lake George, 1755
- Plan of Hudson Rivr from Albany to Fort Edward, 1756
- Fortification according to Mr. Blondel, 1759
- The Gentleman’s Compleat Military Dictionary, 1759
- Quebec, The Capital of New-France, 1759
- The Grounds and Rules of Musick Explained, 1760
- A New Version of the Psalms of David, 1762
- Plan of ye Town of Pownall, 1763
- Walter's Grounds and Rules of Musick, 1764
- Bayley's Grounds and Rules of Musick, 1766
Marriages and children
Johnston first married Rachel Thwing on June 22, 1730, and had eight children with her (five survived to adulthood).[7] His first wife died sometime in 1746. Johnston then married twenty-two-year-old Bathsheba Thwing (Rachel's cousin) on August 6, 1747.[7] He had three children with her with one being Samuel Johnston, who was a master mariner that drown at sea in 1794 on a return trip from the West Indies.[3][24][25] Some of his total of eleven children took on his skills in their careers.[3][26]
Later life and death
Johnston died in Boston of apoplexy on May 8, 1767. He is buried at the King's Chapel Burying Ground near King’s Chapel church in Boston.[27] He had three sons that survived him.[28]
References
- ^ a b Stauffer 1907, p. 144.
- ^ Reps 1971, p. 82-83.
- ^ a b c d Dunlap 1918, p. 312.
- ^ a b Williams 1915, p. 177.
- ^ a b Owen 1979, p. 23.
- ^ Ogasapian 2007, p. 59.
- ^ a b c Garraty 1999, p. 165.
- ^ "The OHS Pipe Organ Database". OHS Database ID 41284. The Organ Historical Society. 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
- ^ Babcock 1947, p. 140.
- ^ Hitchings 1973, p. 83.
- ^ Library of Congress 1975, p. 59.
- ^ Hitchings 1973, p. 85.
- ^ Ciment 2016, p. 2596.
- ^ Massachusetts Historical Society 1957, p. 260.
- ^ New York State 1966, p. 10.
- ^ New-York Historical Society 1969, p. 15.
- ^ Green 1890, p. 4.
- ^ Kane 1997, p. 18.
- ^ Ramsey 1975, p. 568.
- ^ Winsor 1887, p. 586.
- ^ Exhibition Catalogs 1908, p. 46.
- ^ Readex Books 1964, p. 245.
- ^ NYPL 1964, p. 245.
- ^ Williams 1915, p. 179-181.
- ^ Williams, Cornelia. Ancestry of Lawrence Williams. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Hathi Trust.
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(help) - ^ The Society 1918, p. 406.
- ^ Beers 1905, p. 572.
- ^ "Obituary". Boston Evening Post, page 4. Boston, Massachusetts. May 11, 1767.
Sources
- Babcock, Mary Kent Davey (1947). Christ Church, Boston. T. Todd.
It is definitely known, however, that Thomas Johnston built with his own hands the organ which replaced the Claggett organ in 1759, an organ which has been acknowledged the first organ made by an American.
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- Beers, J.H. (January 1, 1905). Record of New London County, Connecticut. J.H. Beers & Company.
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- Ciment, James (17 September 2016). Encyclopedia of Colonial America. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-47416-6.
Thomas Johnston produces the first engraving of a historical event ever produced in America.
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- Dunlap, William (1918). Arts of Design in the U. S. C.E. Goodspeed & Company.
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- Exhibition Catalogs (1908). Exhibition Catalogs, 1886-1909: 1908-1909. Exhibition Catalogs.
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- Garraty, John Arthur (1999). American National Biography. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-512791-1.
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- Green, Samuel A. (1890). Blodget's plan of the battle on the shores of Lake George, 8 September, 1755. Cambridge University Press.
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- Hitchings, Sinclair (1973). Boston Prints and Printmakers. Colonial Society of Massachusetts.
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- Kane, Joseph Nathan (1997). Famous First Facts. H.W. Wilson. ISBN 978-0-8242-0661-1.
the first historical print engraved in America was A-prospective-plan-of-the-battle-fought-near-Lake-George-on-the-8th-of-September-1755, which presented a birds eye view showing the march of troops at the left, the camp and battle at the right, and Forts William Henry and Edward in the upper right hand corner. It was a hand-colored line engraving by Thomas Johnston after a painting by Samuel Blodget, and was printed by Richard Draper in Boston, MA, in 1755.
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- Library of Congress (1975). American Printmaking Before 1876. Library of Congress.
Thomas Johnston (1708-67), who had won some fame for engraving the first view of Yale College.
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- Massachusetts Historical Society (1957). Massachusetts Historical Society. The Society.
The large engraved plan of the battle by Johnston has been called 'the first historical print engraved in America.'
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- New-York Historical Society, Library (1969). New-York Historical Society. New York Historical Society.
This is the first historical print engraved in America.
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- NYPL (1964). New York Public Library bulletin. New York Public Library.
A-Prospective-Plan-of-the-Battle-fought-near-Lake-George-on-the-8th-of-September-1755. This plan, part map and part view, was engraved by Thomas Johnston and has the distinction of being the first historical print engraved in this country.
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- New York State (1966). The Conservationist. N.Y.S. Environmental Department.
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- Ogasapian, John (2007). Church Music in America, 1620-2000. Mercer University Press. ISBN 978-0-88146-026-1.
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- Owen, Barbara (1979). The organ in New England: an account of its use and manufacture to the end of the nineteenth century. Sunbury Press. ISBN 978-0-915548-08-8.
Thomas Johnston, who is unquestionable the first who could be called a professional organ builder.
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- Ramsey, L. G. G. (June 1975). Complete color encyclopedia. Hawthorne Books. ISBN 978-0-8015-1538-5.
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- Readex Books (1964). Bulletin of Research in the Humanities. Readex Books.
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- Reps, John W. (1971). Boston Prints and Printmasters 1670–1775. University Press of Virginia.
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- Stauffer, David McNeely (1907). Biographical sketches. Grolier club of New York City.
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- The Society (1918). Colonial Society of Massachusetts. The Society.
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- Williams, Cornelia Bartow (1915). Ancestry of Lawrence Williams. R.R. Donnelley and Sons Co.
His genius was versatile, for he was not only a japanner, heraldic painter and engraver, but also the pioneer organ builder in New England. He was undoubtedly the first person in New England, who undertook to construct church organs and who followed the business as a regular profession.
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- Winsor, Justin (1887). Critical History of America. Houghton, Mifflin.
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