James Akin collection, 1805

Summary

Creator:

Akin, James, ca. 1773-1846

Abstract:

The James Akin collection contains four items related to an engraving made by him in 1805. The material includes two personal letters and two testimonies.

Extent:

4 items

Language:

English

Authors:

Collection processed and finding aid created by Erin Platte and Meg Hixon, October 2011

Background

Scope and Content:

The James Akin collection contains four items related to an engraving made by him in 1805. The material includes two letters and two testimonies . Both letters, written in the summer of 1805 by John McKown, relate to an engraving of "a very handsome Stone Horse on type metal," requested of Akin by McKown (June 3, 1805). The two testimonies contain statements made by Moses Moody and William Hooker to the Court of Common Pleas reflecting McKown and Akin's dispute about the proper price for the completed plate.

Biographical / Historical:

James Akin (occasionally spelled "Aikin") was born c. 1773 in South Carolina and worked as a clerk for the state department in Philadelphia. In 1804, after learning the process of engraving during an apprenticeship in London, Akin moved to Newburyport, Massachusetts, where he worked as an engraver, painter, and caricaturist. In 1808, he returned to Philadelphia, where he died on July 16, 1846.

Acquisition Information:

1995. M-3119.2 .

Processing information:

Cataloging funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). This collection has been processed according to minimal processing procedures and may be revised, expanded, or updated in the future.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged chronologically.

Rules or Conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Related

Additional Descriptive Data:

Related Materials

The Clements Library holds two engravings made by Akin:

• Akin, James. Benjamin Franklin. Philadelphia: Wm. Duane, 1809.
• Crisp, Edward, and James Akin. A Plan of Charles Town from a Survey of Edwd. Crisp in 1704. [Charleston: 1809].

James Akin also created an engraving contained in the following volume: Lyon, Patrick. The Narrative of Patrick Lyon: Who Suffered Three Month Imprisonment In Philadelphia Gaol; on Merely a Vague Suspicion, of Being Concerned in the Robbery of the Bank of Pennsylvania: With His Remarks Thereon. Philadelphia: Printed by Francis and Robert Bailey, 1799.

Bibliography

Currier, John J. History of Newburyport, Mass.: 1764-1905. Newburyport, Mass.: The author, 1906-1909.

Subjects

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Subjects:

Engraving--United States--History--19th century.

Formats:

Letters (correspondence)
Testimonies.

Names:

Hooker, William, 1782-1856.
M'Kown, J. (John), 1780?-1836.
Moody, Moses.

Places:

Newburyport (Mass.)