From Mortuary Roll to Digital Manuscript: The Life of William Bateman

Have you ever stopped to wonder what the medieval bishop William Bateman — the founder of Trinity Hall — was actually like as a person? Bateman left behind no diary or personal letters (at least no…

The Archives and Old Library at Trinity Hall
John Faber Sr - National Portrait Gallery

Draughtsman and engraver Born in Holland, John Faber came to London in around 1687 and began engraving portraits shortly thereafter. By 1707, he had established a shop near the Savoy in the Strand where he printed and published his own work. Among his more famous mezzotints are portraits of the founders of both Oxford and Cambridge, a set of the heads of the twelve Caesars and twenty-one portraits of the Reformers. Faber's work is noteworthy because he was one of the few mezzotint engravers who often both designed and engraved his plates. His son, John Faber, also became a portrait engraver.