James Bisset

Stephen Van-Hagen (University of Coventry)
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Bisset was born in Perth and received some education at a dame school. By the age of fifteen he was an artist's apprentice in Birmingham, becoming a miniature painter by 1785 and a fancy painter by 1797. He subsequently became a museum owner, shopkeeper and coiner of medals. He wrote several popular volumes of verse, and was fond of boasting in later life that he had sold as many as a hundred thousand copies of his various works. His most well-known poems were arguably “A Poetic Survey Round Birmingham” and “Ramble of the Gods Through Birmingham”, both from

A Poetic Survey Round Birmingham; With a Brief Description of the Different Curiosities and Manufactories of the Place: Intended as a Guide to Strangers

(1800). Both poems effectively offer a guided tour of the city's…

1555 words

Citation: Van-Hagen, Stephen. "James Bisset". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 February 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12018, accessed 19 March 2024.]

12018 James Bisset 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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