Life

Son of a merchant in Philadelphia, he was born there in August 1767. He was admitted to the Quaker school; but his family left to avoid the fighting in American War of Independence, and his education was mostly at Pottstown, Pennsylvania

Pottstown, Pennsylvania

Pottstown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States northwest of Philadelphia and southeast of Reading, on the Schuylkill River. Pottstown was laid out in 1752–53 and named Pottsgrove in honor of its founder, John Potts. The old name was abandoned at the time of the...

. He returned with his family to Philadelphia in 1784, after the conclusion of peace. Acting on the advice of Mr. Bembridge, a relative and fellow-student of Benjamin West

Benjamin West

Benjamin West, RA was an Anglo-American painter of historical scenes around and after the time of the American War of Independence...

, he went to London, and pursued artistic studies for two years in the Royal Academy

Royal Academy

The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...

. Finding that history painting

History painting

History painting is a genre in painting defined by subject matter rather than an artistic style, depicting a moment in a narrative story, rather than a static subject such as a portrait...

 and landscape painting were not much in demand, he took to engraving and the compilation of books on topographical and historical subjects. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

He died in Gee Street, Clarendon Square

Clarendon Square

Clarendon Square could refer to*Streets named Clarendon Square*Residential areas*Clarendon Square Shopping Centre in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England....

, London, on 5 April 1815, leaving his mother and wife unprovided for.

Works

Many of his engravings are in the Gentleman's Magazine, from 1792 to 1814. His Excursions through Kent and works in John Nichols

John Nichols (printer)

John Nichols was an English printer, author and antiquary.-Early life and apprenticeship:He was born in Islington, London to Edward Nichols and Anne Wilmot. On 22 June 1766 he married Anne Cradock daughter of William Cradock...

's History of Leicestershire, were long-term projects. He engraved and published three views of Leathersellers' Hall, on the site of the monastery of St. Helen's, London, and two large plates of the inside of the Middle Temple Hall, and one external view, under the auspices of the society.
Malcolm's major work was Londinium Redivivum, or an Antient History and Modern Description of London, compiled from Parochial Records, Archives of various Foundations, the Harleian MSS. and other authentic Sources’ (4 vols. London 1802–7). It was a parochial history compiled from original records, such as vestry-books, churchwardens' accounts, and parochial registers. The dean and chapter of St Paul's Cathedral

St Paul's Cathedral

St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...

 gave him free access to their archives. The work is accompanied by forty-seven plates.
Malcolm's other publications were:

• Seventy-nine plates to illustrate Daniel Lysons
  Daniel Lysons
  Daniel Lysons was a notable English antiquary and topographer of the late 18th and early 19th century, who published the four-volume The Environs of London ....
  
  's Environs of London (1797–1800).
• Twenty Views within Twelve Miles of London (1800)'
• Letters between the Rev. James Granger, M.A., and many of the most eminent Literary Men of his Time(1805).
• First Impressions, or Sketches from Art and Nature, Animate and Inanimate (1807).
• Excursions in the Counties of Kent, Gloucester, Hereford, Monmouth, and Somersetshire in 1802, 1803, and 1805; illustrated by Descriptive Sketches (1807; second edition 1814, with twenty-four plates).
• Anecdotes of the Manners and Customs of London during the Eighteenth Century; including the Charities, Depravities, Dresses, and Amusements of the City of London during that Period; with a Review of the State of Society in 1807. To which is added a Sketch of the Domestic and Ecclesiastical Architecture, and of the various Improvements in the Metropolis, illustrated by fifty Engravings, (1808; another edition 1810).
• Anecdotes of the Manners and Customs of London, from the Roman Invasion to the Year 1700, illustrated by eighteen Engravings (1811).

• Miscellaneous Anecdotes, illustrative of the Manners and History of Europe during the Reigns of Charles II, James II, William III, and Queen Anne (1811).
• An Historical Sketch of the Art of Caricaturing, with graphic Illustrations (1813).