READ, Mary (1797-1855) — London
Publisher, engraver, lithographer & printer. Produced Sebastopol, and fortifications now in active progress on the land side 1854; A panoramic view of the north side of Sebastopol from Eupatoria 1855; Accurate panoramic view of Sebastapol and its defences, from the British and French batteries 1855; Complete panoramic view of the Crimea showing present position of the allied & Russian armies 1855; Seat of war in India. Delhi and 400 miles round 1857; Panoramic view of India from the Himalaya Mountains, shewing the actual geographical position of the principal cities 1857; Col. Lawrence’s military plan of the city of Lucknow 1857; India at a glance. Read’s bird’s-eye view of India 1857, etc. Also well-known for publishing children’s books; toy-books; topical scenes; caricatures; humorous material; views, e.g. ‘The world’s metropolis, or mighty London, illustrated by a series of views’ 1851-1855.
Born Mary Blake at Sheffield in Yorkshire, reportedly on 13 Oct 1797, the daughter of Thomas Blake and his wife Sarah Spencer. She married the London engraver and printer William Read (see BME 2011), with whom she had several children, at St. Peter’s Cathedral, Sheffield, 18 Sep 1818. After her husband’s death early in 1845, the business continued as ‘M. Read & Co.’ or just ‘Read & Co.’ on into the 1860s, but Mary Read described herself simply as a proprietor of houses in 1851 and died in 1855 — the business was effectively being run by her son-in-law, the engraver and printer Thomas Brooks, who had married her daughter Sarah Read (1822-1893) in 1844, and continued it after her death. Mary Read was buried at All Souls, Kensal Green, 21 Jun 1855 aged fifty-eight. The business later became ‘Read, Brooks & Co.’, moving to Aldersgate Street in 1868.
16 Hart Street, Covent Garden — 1845-1846
10 Johnson’s Court, Fleet Street — 1847-1855
Adams. BBTI. BM. Brown. Census 1841-1851. LHD. Tooley. Wakeman & Bridson.