Miller became an apprentice to William Archibald in 1814. His first published engraving was in that year, of an apple tree for William Archibald. This engraving appeared in Vol I of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society. He spent four years with William Archibald, then setting up on his own account. At the end of 1819 he moved to Hackney to join the workshop of George Cooke. The premium paid for his 18-month stay with Cooke was £240. Other apprentices with Cooke included William Shotter Boys.
In the 1830s his address is listed as 4 Hope Park, in the Meadows area of Edinburgh.[1]
Works
Whilst an apprentice with Cooke, Miller drew a series of plants from the neighbouring nursery of Loddiges. These were engraved by Cooke and published in volumes v - vii of Loddiges Botanical Cabinet, London, J. and A. Arch, 1820 - 1822.
Cattleya labiata 2, from Jefferson's Legacy, the collection of Library of Congress (Loddiges & Sons', The Botanical Cabinet. London, 1817–1833)
James Giles, one of William Miller's pupils, wrote some reminiscences of his time as an apprentice at Hope Park. Writing from Redhill on 17 September 1883 (published privately in Memorials of Hope Park):
"Wm Miller's admiration of Turner was unbounded, and his pupils soon caught the infection. The drawings, which at first sight looked so mysterious and unintelligible, the more they were pondered, unfolded their wondrous meaning and beauty; and from my own experience I can testify, that sitting for weeks before the same drawing, I did not tire over them, as was the case with inferior pictures. The plates executed from 1833 to 1836 consisted of the illustrations to Scott's Works, Turner's 'Annual Tour', Gainsborough's 'Watering Place', a large Venice, by Turner and, of course, some plates of less note. The plates for Rogers's poems were engraved before my time, but not published till afterwards; these are probably the most exquisite gems that ever were, or ever will be produced. I beg however to differ from Ruskin in my estimate of them. I like Loch Lomond, and the old Ancestral Hall better than the vignette, with the fountain, at the beginning of the volume...........The Gainsborough was entirely the work of your father's own hand; it was done from a smaller copy of the original in the National Gallery. The pencil drawing was sent as usual to be transferred by the printer through the rolling press on to the etching ground, but when it came back the drawing was found to have shifted during the process, and the transferred outlines were thick and blurred. I should have been appalled, but your father made light of it, and etched away as if it had been all right.
"I need hardly say that it is as the interpreter of Turner your father's fame very much rests, and that Turner himself preferred 'the Scotch Quaker' to all other engravers. The skill with which he translated the high aerial effects was beyond all rivalry..........
"In making the outline drawings for transference to the plate, we were instructed to preserve every minute touch, indeed, keeping the touch was a point much insisted on. I remember an amusing instance of this. I was etching the Pass of Killicrankie, a vignette for Scott's Works; cottages were in flames, and the dead lying in the foreground; in the distance was a row of dark spots - the subject suggested they might be a regiment of soldiers, at the same time they looked very much like fir-trees. I asked your father's opinion, he reply was 'Oh, just keep the touch, and they can be taken for either.' He was not, however, so particular in the case of architecture; and when Edinburgh, from St. Anthony's Chapel, was in hand, he sent me to the spot to make sketches of the principal buildings in the distance. The High School in Turner's drawing was little more than a white patch. Your father did the foreground, and I believe, the sheep, but St. Anthony's Chapel, and the various distant buildings were etched by me - the latter from the sketches I had taken. For closeness of line and minute detail, it is the most laborious plate I was ever engaged on, and will, I believe, bear looking at through a magnifier. Of course, the beautiful effects depend entirely on the finish of your father. I had only to do with the mechanical part - the body - the soul is his. In the case of Turner's figures, perhaps keeping the touch was carried too far.
Nantfrangon, Carnarvonshire. Engraving by Miller c.1850
"Your father usually etched the foreground of the plates his pupils worked upon; and was fond of etching water, both rough and smooth, which was remarkable for its liquid effect.
"Turner's touched proofs were always an object of interest in the workroom. I recollect on the margin of one of them he had written. 'Mr Miller will please return all my touched proofs.' Whether this was done I cannot say; but they are generally considered the property of the engraver. They must be of considerable value."
Large single prints by Miller after Turner include The Grand Canal for Hodgson and Graves, 1837; Modern Italy for F G Moon, issued as the Presentation Plate for the National Art Union in 1843; and The Rhine, Osterprey and Feltzen for D T White in 1852.
His last engraved work was a series of vignettes after Myles Birket Foster to illustrate two volumes of the poems of Thomas Hood, published by Moxon in 1871 and 1872.
Bibliography of works illustrated by William Miller
Memoirs of the Caledonian Horticultural Society Volume First. Edinburgh: Printed by Neill & Co. for Archibald Constable and Company; and for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, London, 1814.[3]
Encyclopædia Britannica 5th Edition, at the Encyclopaedia Press, For Archibald Constable and Company, and Thomson Bonar, Edinburgh: Gale, Curtis, and Fenner, London; and Thomas Wilson and Sons, York, 1817.[4]
The Botanical Cabinet Consisting of Coloured Delineations of Plants from all countries. Plates by George Cooke. Conrad Loddiges. London: John & Arthur Arch, 1818.[5]
Engravings of the Skeleton of the Human Body. John Gordon MD. Blackwood, Edinburgh 1818.[6]
Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Vol IX, Edinburgh: Printed (by Patrick Neill) for William & Charles Tait, Prince's Street, and Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown, London, 1823.[7]
Scottish Cryptogamic Flora or Coloured Figures and Descriptions of Cryptogamic Plants, belonging chiefly to the Order Fungi; and Intended to serve as a Continuation of English Botany. Robert Kaye Greville. Edinburgh: Printed (by P. Neill) for MacLachlan & Stewart, Edinburgh; and Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, London, 1823-1828 (Plesch 301; Margadant, Greville 5; Nissen 757).[8]
An Account of the Bell Rock Lighthouse by Robert Stevenson, Edinburgh Printed for Archibald Constable and Co, Edinburgh; Hurst, Robinson and Co and Josiah Taylor, London, 1824.[9]
An Essay on Gothic Architecture by T. Rickman, Architect. Third edn. Thomas Rickman. Liverpool: Geo. Smith. 1825.[10]
Picturesque Views on the Southern Coast of England from drawings made principally by J.M.W. Turner, R.A. and engraved by W.B. Cooke, George Cooke and other eminent engravers, John and Arthur Arch, London 1826.[11]
Provincial Antiquities and Picturesque Scenery of Scotland, Walter Scott, J M W Turner and others, John and Arthur Arch, London 1826.[12]
Edinburgh from Arthur's Seat after H W Williams, Published by John Shepherd, 15 Princes Street, Edinburgh, 1826. The print was republished in 1846 by Shepherd and Elliott modified to include the National Monument and Scott Monument, with the omission of the parasol held by the woman in the foreground.[13]
Select Views In Greece With Classical Illustrations. Williams, Hugh William. London: Longman Rees Orme Brown and Green; and Adam Black. 1829
The Winter's Wreath for MDCCCXXIX. A Collection of Original Contributions in Prose and Verse. London: Published by George B. Whitaker; and George Smith, Liverpool. 1829
The Morbid Anatomy of the Gullet, Stomach and Intestines. Alexander Monro, tertius. Second Edition. Edinburgh: John Carfrae and Son; and Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green, London. 1830
Select Views Of The Royal Palaces Of Scotland, From Drawings by William Brown, Glasgow; With Illustrative Descriptions Of Their Local Situation, Present Appearance, And Antiquities. John Jamieson. Cadell & Co & Simpkin Marshall, Edinburgh & London 1830
The Landscape Annual for 1830. The Tourist in Switzerland and Italy. Roscoe, Thomas. Illustrated from Drawings by S Prout. London: Robert Jennings and William Chaplin. 62, Cheapside 1830
The Landscape Annual for 1832. The Tourist in Italy. Roscoe, Thomas. Illustrated from Drawings by J.S. Harding. London: Robert Jennings and William Chaplin. 62, Cheapside 1832
The Winter's Wreath for MDCCCXXXI. A Collection of Original Contributions in Prose and Verse. London: Published by George B. Whitaker; and George Smith, Liverpool. 1831
Remarks on the Comparative Merits of Cast Metal and Malleable Iron Railways; and an account of the Stockton and Darlington Railway and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway &c &c. Printed By Charles Henry Cook, (successor to the late Edw. Walker Pilgrim-Street Newcastle, 1832
Westmoreland, Cumberland, Durham & Northumberland. Illustrated from original drawings by Thomas Allom etc. With historical & topographical descriptions by Thomas Rose. Fisher Son and Co., London 1832
The Winter's Wreath for MDCCCXXXII. A Collection of Original Contributions in Prose and Verse. London: Published by George B. Whitaker; and George Smith, Liverpool. 1832.
Heath's Picturesque Annual for 1832, Travelling Sketches in the North of Italy, the Tyrol, and on the Rhine. With Twenty Six Beautifully Finished Engravings from Drawings by Clarkson Stanfield. Charles Heath. London: Published for the Proprietor by Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green. 1832
Heath's Picturesque Annual for 1833; Travelling Sketches on the Rhine, and in Belgium and Holland. With Twenty Six Beautifully Finished Engravings from Drawings by Clarkson Stanfield. Charles Heath. London: Published for the Proprietor by Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman. 1833
Heath's Picturesque Annual for 1834; Travelling Sketches on the Sea Coasts of France. With Beautifully Finished Engravings from Drawings by Clarkson Stanfield. Charles Heath. London: Published for the Proprietor by Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green. 1834
Views In The East comprising India, Canton. and The Shores of The Red Sea with Historical and Descriptive Illustrations. Elliot, Captain Robert R.N. H. Fisher, Son & Co., Newgate Street, London 1833
Illustrations: Landscape, Historical, and Antiquarian, to The Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott, Bart. London, Charles Tilt, 1834 (first published as Rokeby, the frontispiece to The Aurora Borealis, the Friends' Annual, Newcastle upon Tyne 1833)
The Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott, Bart. Each Volume to have a Frontispiece and Vignette Title-page from designs taken from real scenes by J.W. Turner, R.A. Edinburgh: Robert Cadell, Edinburgh; Whittaker, Treacher, and Arnot, London; John Cumming, Dublin 1833 - 1834
The Miscellaneous Prose Works of Sir Walter Scott, Bart. Embellished with Portraits, Frontispieces, Vignette Titles and Maps. The Designs of the Landscapes from Real Scenes by J.M.W. Turner, R.A.. Edinburgh: Robert Cadell, Edinburgh; Whitaker, Arnot, and Company, London; John Cumming, Dublin 1834 - 1836
Stanfield's Coast Scenery. a Series of Views in the British Channel, from Original Drawings Taken Expressly for the Work. Clarkson Stanfield. Smith, Elder and Co., London, 1836
Picturesque Views in England and Wales. From Drawings by J.M.W. Turner, engraved under the superintendence of Mr. Charles Heath with descriptive and historic illustrations written by Hannibal Evans Lloyd. London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1838
Engravings from the Pictures of the National Gallery (1840).[16]
The History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham; compiled from original records, preserved in public repositories and private collections: and illustrated by engravings of architectural and monumental antiquities, portraits of eminent persons, etc. etc. etc. (4 Vols). Surtees, Robert, London: printed by and for Nichols, Son, and Bentley .. and G. Andrews, Durham Volume 1 1816, volume 2 1820, volume 3 1823, volume 4 1840
Art and Song. A Series of Original Highly Finished Steel Engravings from Masterpieces of Art of the Nineteenth Century. Bell, Robert (Ed), Bell and Daldy, London 1867
The Book of Gems from the Poets and Artists of Great Britain. The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century. Wordsworth to Tennyson. Hall, Samuel Carter. Bell and Daldy, London 1866
Black's Picturesque Tourist of Scotland with an Accurate Travelling Map, Engraved Charts, and Views of the Scenery; Plans of Edinburgh and Glasgow; and a Copious Itinerary. Adam & Charles Black, Edinburgh; various editions from 1846
Kilchurn Castle, Loch Awe engraving by William Miller after J M W Turner, Rawlinson 664 first published state; engraved exclusively for the Members of the Association for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in Scotland, 1847
Finden's Royal Gallery of British Art, Published by the Proprietors, at 18 and 19, Southampton Place, Euston Square; sold by F. G. Moon, 20, Threadneedle Street, and Ackermann & Co., Strand, London, 1838–1849
The Castles, Palaces and Prisons of Mary of Scotland. Charles Mackie. London. C Cox, 12, King William St, Strand, Oliver & Boyd Edinburgh, David Robertson, Bookseller to the Queen Glasgow, James Chalmers Dundee, & J Robertson Dublin. 1849
Six Engravings for the Members of the Royal Association for Promotion of the Fine Arts in Scotland, Royal Association for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in Scotland, 1863
Eight Engravings in Illustration of Waverley. For the Members of the Royal Association for Promotion of the Fine Arts in Scotland, Royal Association for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in Scotland, 1865
The Imperial Bible Dictionary - Historical, Biographical, Geographical and Doctrinal - Illustrated by numerous engravings - Including the natural history, antiquities, manners, customs, and religious rites and ceremonies mentioned in the scriptures, and an account of the several books of the old and new Testaments. Patrick Fairbairn. London: Blackie and Son, Paternoster Row 1866
Yorkshire Past and Present: a history and a description of the three ridings of the great county of York, from the earliest ages to the year 1870; with an account of its manufactures, commerce, and civil and mechanical engineering. Including an account of the woollen trade of Yorkshire by Edward Baines. Baines, Thomas. London: William Mackenzie, 22 Paternoster Row. 1871
A Catalogue of Engravings by William Miller HRSA 1818 - 1871 By WFM (William F. Miller, his eldest son). Published privately in 1886.
Memorials of Hope Park comprising some particulars in the life of our dear father William Miller, together with a list of his engravings. By WFM (William F Miller, his eldest son). Published privately in 1886.
Published By Authority. Burnet, John, [& others], Illustrated by John Burnet, George Cooke, George T. Doo, William Finden, Edward Goodall, John & Henry Le Keux, John Pye, John H. Robinson, et al. London: Published for the Associated Engravers By John Pye, 42 Cirencestor Place, Fitzroy Square. 1840
The Watering Place
Delos., an engraving of a drawing of Delos by William Linton for The Winter's Wreath annual, 1831 with an accompanying poem The Song of Delos by Felicia Hemans.
Engravings for Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Books with poetical illustrations by Letitia Elizabeth Landon:
Delos., an engraving of a drawing of Delos by William Linton for The Winter's Wreath annual, 1831 with an accompanying poem The Song of Delos by Felicia Hemans.
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