Cooke was born in
London in 1781. His father was a native of
Frankfurt, Germany, who in early life settled in England and became a wholesale
confectioner. At the age of 14, George Cooke was apprenticed to
James Basire (1730-1802). Around the end of his apprenticeship he engraved many plates for
Brewer's The Beauties of England and Wales, some in conjunction with his elder brother,
William Bernard Cooke. This work was followed by
Picturesque Views on the Southern Coast of England, from drawings made principally by
Turner. It was commenced in 1814 and completed in 1826, and George Cooke engraved 15 plates, nearly one-third of the total, and some
vignettes. Next appeared an improved edition of
The Thames, for which he engraved the 'Launch of the Nelson' and the 'Fair on the Thames,' after
Luke Clennell, and the 'Opening of Waterloo Bridge,' after
Philip Reinagle. and about the same time he engraved some of the plates, after Turner, for Hakewill's
Picturesque Tour of Italy, 1820, and
Sir Walter Scott's
Provincial Antiquities and Picturesque Scenery of Scotland, 1826, in which latter work should be especially noted "Edinburgh from the Calton Hill". To these were added plates for
Thomas Allason's Antiquities of Pola, 1819,
John Spencer-Stanhope's Olympia, (published by Rodwell and Martin, 1824), and D'Oyly and
Mant's Bible, as well as some of those for John Hughes'
Views in the South of France, chiefly on the Rhone, after
Peter De Wint. and the
Ancient Terracottas in the same collection, and single plates after Turner of a "View of Gledhow" for Whitaker's
Loidis and Elmete, and "Wentworth House" for
Thomas Dunham Whitaker's History of Richmondshire. In 1815, he produced some lithographs for
Henry Holland's Travels in the Ionian Isles, .... He also engraved the "Iron Bridge at Sunderland", from an outline by
Edward Blore; for
Surtees's History of Durham; and the "Monument of Sir Francis Bacon" in
St Michael's Church, St Albans, for
Robert Clutterbuck's History of Hertfordshire. engraved from drawings by Callcott,
Stanfield, Roberts,
Prout,
Stark,
Harding,
Cotman, and
Havell, ending with the 12th issue just before his death. In 1833, Cooke produced
Views of the Old and New London Bridges, executed conjointly with his son,
Edward William Cooke, who also made the drawings. He also produced plates for
Frederick Nash's Views in Paris, Colonel Batty's
Views of European Cities, Baron Taylor's
Spain published by Robert Jennings,
Rhodes's Peak Scenery and
Yorkshire Scenery, several for
Stark's Scenery of the Rivers of Norfolk, and one of "Southampton", after
Copley Fielding, for the
Gallery of the Society of Painters in Water Colours. Cooke was one of the original members of the "Society of Associated Engravers", who joined together for the purpose of engraving the pictures in the
National Gallery, and two of his plates were in preparation at the time of his death. He likewise attempted engraving in
mezzotint, and in that style executed a plate of 'Arundel Castle,' after Turner; but it was not a success, and was never published. Cooke died of '
brain fever' on 27 February 1834 at
Barnes, where he was buried. ==References==