Horace Walpole entirely composed his "Anecdotes of Painting in England," only referring to the authors that Vertue quoted to verify his extracts. To the fidelity and industry of Vertue, and the wit and literary ability of Walpole, we owe this great work.
Vertue was employed by Sir Godfrey Kneller, and was one of the first members of the Academy of Painting, of which Kneller was president. During the reign of queen Anne he was chiefly employed in engraving the portraits of Kneller, Dahl, Richardson, Jervase, Gibson, and others. In 1730 he published a set of twelve engraved portraits of the poets, namely, Gower, Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Beaumont, Fletcher, Milton, Butler, Cowley, Waller, and Dryden; the first collection of illustrious heads made in England, and one of Vertue's best works. He next engraved ten heads of Charles I., and of distinguished sufferers in his cause, with their characters added from Clarendon; and afterwards the portraits of the kings of England, with letter-press from Rapin's "History," published in weekly numbers. He also executed some of the heads for Houbraken's series, which, though not equalling in artistic excellence those of Houbraken, are far superior in truth as portraits, for Vertue's great characteristic was his veracity.
COINS AND COINAGE.
Under William III., as we have stated, our coins, debased to a most scandalous and dishonest degree by the Stuarts, and still further reduced by clipping and sweating, were restored substantially and handsomely. The English coins
FIVE-POUND PIECE OF WILLIAM AND MARY.
of William and Mary consist of five-pound pieces, two-pound pieces, guineas, half-guineas, and all the usual silver and copper pieces. In the English ones, the king and queen's heads in profile look to the left; in the Scotch ones, to the right.
SILVER COIN OF QUEEN ANNE.
Others were minted after the queen's death, and bear the king's head only. In 1690 some tin halfpence and farthings were coined, but were so often counterfeited, that they were called in and replaced by copper ones. The coins of queen Anne were still more beautiful. They were chiefly designed and coined by Croker, the celebrated English medallist, second only to Simon, the coiner of Cromwell. On the union taking place, the arms on the reverse were altered—instead of those of England being in the upper shield and France in the lower, Scotland on the left, and Ireland on the right one, Scotland took the place of France under England, and France occupied the sinister shield which Scotland had before. The most celebrated of all queen Anne's coins
QUEEN ANNE’S FARTHING.
are her farthings, which are the most rare of coins, having only been executed as patterns, but never issued. They bear very different reverses. The farthings were coined in 1713 and 1711, and those of the former year, bearing on the reverse Britannia under an arch, and the one with Peace in a chariot, and the legend, "Pax missa per orbem," are the most valued by collectors. Her halfpence after the union have on the reverse Britannia holding in her hand a branch bearing a rose and thistle.
Such of her coins as were minted at Edinburgh, where the mint was continued for some time, have the letter "E" under the queen's bust.
CROWN PIECE OF GEORGE I.
SHILLING OF GEORGE I.
The coins of George I. were also by Croker. In them we see the shield of Scotland removed altogether, and that of Hanover introduced instead, occupying the dexter side of the reverse, and Ireland the lower shield; and this arrangement was continued by George II., who also adorned the intervals betwixt the cross formed by the shields with the
