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JAMES MALTON (C.1761-1803)
“A Picturesque and Descriptive view of the City of Dublin”
A set of twenty-five hand coloured aquatints
33 x 44cm
There is no recorded date for the birth of James Malton, but working on earlier records he was apprenticed to
James Gandon, the famous architect, at the age of 17 in 1781. His father, Thomas Malton, was an architectural
draughtsman and teacher. Malton’s apprenticeship to Gandon was terminated after three years by mutual con-
sent, after which he moved to London, working from there with frequent visits back to Dublin. Malton engaged
on his grand project to produce his “Picturesque Views of Dublin”, on a scale hitherto unknown even in London.
Dublin pre-Act of Union in 1800 was of course an incredibly rich and vibrant city at the zenith of its financial
and cultural powers, and so to Malton it must have appeared ripe for acceptance of such a publication to cel-
ebrate its status as the city second only to London.
The book was published in six parts by subscription, as was the custom, starting in 1792. The printing itself was
carried out in London.
The book proved in part to be too great an undertaking for Malton, and he could not have foreseen the exodus
which took place in the city after the Act of Union in 1800. He died in 1803 in London at the age of 38 of a brain
fever, and undoubtedly did not reap the rewards of his endeavour.
Provenance: Ardbraccan House, Navan, Co Meath
€8,000 - 12,000
