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John Kay etchings, 1784-1818


260 Portraits in set

Etchings chronicling all walks of life in Edinburgh society at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries by the little known etcher John Kay. Kay was an ex-barber and native of Edinburgh who turned to etching relatively late in life and produced many hundreds of original naïve and mostly humorous portraits of his fellow citizens.

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John Campbell, by John Kay - NPG D32347

John Campbell

by John Kay
etching and aquatint, circa 1784-1795
NPG D32347

General Buttons, by John Kay, after  Colonel Campbell - NPG D16898

General Buttons

by John Kay, after Colonel Campbell
etching and aquatint, 1786 (1777)
NPG D16898