Abraham Wivell

holding a crown. O'Connor claimed to be the rightful king of Ireland Born in Marylebone, London, Wivell was forced to work from an early age after his father died leaving his mother in poverty. He worked on a farm from the age of six, and did various jobs in London as a child. In 1799, he was apprenticed to a wigmaker, which at the time was part of normal hairdressing. After completing his seven-year apprenticeship, he set up his own hairdressing salon. Initially an amateur artist, he advertised his skills by showing portrait miniatures he had painted in his hairdressing shop window. By this means he gained commissions for portrait drawings and paintings, aided by the support of Joseph Nollekens and James Northcote. Unfortunately, Wivell lost a great deal on money on the venture, as the cost of printing such a richly illustrated work far exceeded the sales. However, he was saved financially by the death of his uncle, Abram Wivell of Camden Town, who left him his house and furniture and an lifetime annuity of £100. ==Fire protection==

In the 1820s Wivell turned his attention to fire protection, arguing, along with others, that the private fire brigades of the time were more concerned with protecting property than human life. Several voluntary groups sprung up dedicated to solving this problem. In 1836 the "Royal Society for the Protection of Life from Fire" was created with Wivell in charge of developing techniques for helping people escape from burning buildings. Wivell designed a portable fire escape, which could be brought to buildings and erected rapidly. He created demonstration models of the design to illustrate a series of lectures on fire-fighting that he gave in 1836. The ladder was mounted on a wheeled chariot. Once at the scene, a fly ladder was swung into position with ropes. A rescued person could be quickly passed down through a canvas chute that hung below the ladder, allowing a rapid flow of escapees. 85 fire escape stations were established in London by the society containing escape ladders on the Wivell design. Other cities also acquired Wivell's design. ==Later life==

He resigned his position with the society in 1841 after a dispute, and moved to Birmingham, where he resumed his artistic career. In 1847 he endorsed the authenticity of the newly discovered Ashbourne portrait, which was claimed to depict Shakespeare. In 1849 he died of Bronchitis in Birmingham. Wivell was married twice and had fourteen children. He was survived by ten of his children. His oldest son, also called Abraham Wivell, was also a successful painter. ==Notes==