BLAKE, —–
An engraver of the firm of “—– & Blake”. They produced a decorative label for a wooden box for an Edward Wallis (see BME 2011) jigsaw map of the railways of England, ca. 1840, the stylized image representing the Euston Arch, erected in 1837. The only copy of the label seen is badly scraped and the first name missing.
This is probably Edward William Boucher (Boutcher) Blake (1802-1881), born in London in 1802, son of Edward Blake and Elizabeth Boucher of Saffron Hill, baptised at St. Andrew Holborn 18 Jan 1809. He was recorded as an engraver resident in Grays Inn Lane 1825; at 40 William Street, Marylebone 1836; in Broad Street, St. Giles, in 1841; at 27 Croft Street, Saffron Hill, in 1851; at 12 Leather Lane, Saffron Hill, in 1861; and in Dolphin Place, St. Giles, in 1871. He married Sarah Beckett at St. Mary Islington 23 Aug 1824. He died at Holborn Union Infirmary, Archway Road, Highgate, 24 Jan 1881.