One of the things we have a lot of, here in the UK, is recorded history. Over the weekend, I discovered our family is directly related to Henry Copland (1706-1754). Henry was an engraver and rococo designer of furniture, and, it turns out, he was also the co-author of a book called A New Book of Ornaments. This book was a manual for other engravers and furniture designers, such as Paul Revere, on how to create items in the Rococo style.
According to the book American Rococo, 1750-1775 : Elegance in Ornament, Copland's designs had a lasting influence on engravers and wood-carvers in both in England and in her colonies.
“As quickly as printed designs arrived from England, American engravers felt free to copy them, duplicating them virtually line for line on occasion, changing only the text or, in the case of bookplates, the armorial.”
Paul Revere, in addition to being famous for owning one of the oldest houses still remaining in Boston, was a silversmith engraver. According to the authors of American Rococo, Revere copied extensively from Henry Copland's books (and others).
James Taylor was another engraver influenced by Copland's book, and he provides a connection to another famous American, Benjamin Franklin, the famous inventor and publisher. According to American Rococo, he printed a number of engravings created by Turner in the style of Copland's book. Turner also developed bookplates for Francis Hopkinson, another famous early American.
As far as I have been able to discover, Copland's books were collection of drawings. I don't believe there was any instructional text to accompany the illustrations.
It's pleasing to know one of my ancestors made his mark (enough to earn him an entry in Wikipedia), and that there's a connection with technical communication from all those years ago.
Ellis Pratt is director at Cherryleaf, a UK technical writing services company. Ranked the most influential blogger on technical communication in Europe, Ellis is a specialist in the field of creating clear and simple information users will love.
Paul Revere was famous for much more.
“He is most famous for alerting the Colonial militia to the approach of British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Revere
Yet more evidence he was a wrong’un
😉
So famous The Beastie Boys made a song about him.