HIGHAM, Thomas

1795 - 1844

Thomas Higham was born at Bramfield, Suffolk on 11 February 1795 and baptised three days later, son of Thomas Higham (1764-1849), who outlived his son, and his wife, Charlotte née Aldiss (or Aldous), who married at Bramfield on 4 April 1792. Young Thomas was apprenticed to John Greig, an antiquary and topographical engraver and was a landscape engraver and draughtsman, his earliest engravings, which include plates for James Storer's 'Antiquarian Itinerary' (1815), demonstrate the considerable skill and refinement characteristic of his mature work. An accomplished draughtsman: several engravings of Suffolk sites after his designs appeared in Storer's 'Ancient Reliques' (1812-1813), and he drew over 80% and engraved the plates for 'Excursions in the County of Suffolk' (1818-1819) which had title pages and some other plates by John Sell Cotman (1782-1842). In the late 1820s, Higham began using steel plates, and his ‘New London Bridge’ and ‘Suspension Bridge over the Thames at Hammersmith’ of 1828 for James Elmes's 'Metropolitan Improvements' (1827–1832) are some of his earliest engravings using this medium. For the remainder of his short career, Higham contributed to many publications, typically only producing one or two engravings for each. Higham exhibited at the Society of British Artists in 1825, 1826, and 1830, and was an auditor of the Artists' Annuity Fund. Thomas married at Saint Mary, Islington, London on 7 February 1825, Jane Pollard, in the presence of Charlotte Higham. In 1841 Thomas Higham was a widower living with his younger sister Martha, at 9 Upper Brunswick Terrace, Islington, where he died on 3 January 1844.

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Works by This Artist