Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Godby, James
GODBY, JAMES (fl. 1790–1815), stipple-engraver, worked in London. His earliest known engraving is a portrait of Edward Snape, farrier to George III, engraved in 1791, after a portrait by Whitby. He engraved two large plates after H. Singleton, representing ‘Adam bearing the Wounded Body of Abel’ and ‘The Departure of Cain,’ published in 1799 and 1800 respectively. In 1810 he engraved a full-length portrait of ‘Edward Wyatt, Esq.,’ after Sir Thomas Lawrence. Godby was then residing at 25 Norfolk Street, near the Middlesex Hospital. Later in life he engraved several plates after Friedrich Rehberg, including portraits of Madame de Stael and Sir John Herschel, and a fancy group entitled ‘Bacchus's and Cupid's Vintage.’ He also engraved plates for the ‘Literary Magazine’ and ‘The Fine Arts of the English School.’ He engraved exclusively in the stipple manner, often with pleasing and delicate effect.
[Redgrave's Dict. of Artists; Dodd's MS. Hist. of English Engravers (Brit. Mus. Addit. MS. 33401)].