BASIRE, Isaac

Isaac Basire 1704-1768

Isaac Basire was known for his work as a map engraver and was the first in a family of four generations of well-known engravers. His family came originally from Rouen in Normandy.

Basire was born in Wardour Street, Soho, the son of Jacques Basire from Rouen. He was apprenticed to a silversmith and then to a metal engraver/letterpress printer. He lived and worked in a house in St John’s Lane, Clerkenwell  from about 1739, working mainly on maps and book illustrations. His sons John and Isaac carried on the business there after his death.

antique historical map of rome by Isaac Basire - c1765
Antique historical map of Rome by Isaac Basire – c1765

His son James Basire 1 (1730- 1802) became known as an engraver of architecture and was Engraver to the Royal Society and the  Society of Antiquaries, his grandson James Basire 2  (1769 – 1822) also became  Engraver to the Royal Society and to the Antiquaries, and his great-grandson James Basire 3 (1796-1869) was also a line engraver.

Sources:

The Quiet Conquest: The Huguenots 1685-1985 by Tessa Murdoch

www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId=133182

https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol46/pp142-163

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