Samuel Carter Hall
Encyclopedia
Samuel Carter Hall was an Irish-born Victorian journalist
who is best known for his editorship of The Art Journal
and for his much-satirised personality.
. His father was Robert Hall (1753 - 10 January 1836, Chelsea), an army officer and, while in Ireland, engaged in working copper mines which ruined him. His mother supported the family of 12 children with her own business in Cork
, Ireland
. He married Ann Kent (b. 1765, Ottery St. Mary, Devonshire) at Topsham
, 6 April 1790. Ann Hall supported the family, including 12 children, by running a business in Cork, Ireland.
Hall was the fourth son.
In 1821, he left Ireland and went to London
. He entered law studies at the Inner Temple
in 1824, but never practiced, though he was finally called to the bar in 1841. Instead, he became a reporter and editor, including:
purchased into the Art Union Monthly Journal, retaining Hall as editor. Virtue renamed the periodical The Art Journal
in 1849.
In 1851, Hall engraved 150 pictures from the private collection of the Queen and Prince Albert, and the engravings were featured in the journal's Great Exhibition edition. Though this edition was quite popular, the journal remained unprofitable, forcing Hall to sell his share of The Art Journal to Virtue, but staying on as editor.
As editor, Hall exposed the profits that custom-houses were earning by importing Old Master
s, and showed how paintings are manufactured in England. While Art Journal became notable for its honest portrayal of fine arts, the consequence of Hall's actions was the almost unsaleability of old masters such as a Raphael or a Titian. His intention was to support modern British art by promoting young artists and attacking the market for unreliable old masters. The early issues of the Journal strongly supported the artists of The Clique
and attacked the Pre-Raphaelites. Hall remained deeply unsympathetic to Pre-Raphaeliism, publishing several attacks upon the movement. Hall resigned the editorship in 1880, and was granted a Civil List
pension for his long and valuable services to literature and art.
(1800-1881), became well known (publishing as "Mrs S.C. Hall"), for her numerous articles, novels, sketches of Irish life, and plays. Two of the last, The Groves of Blarney and The French Refugee, were produced in London with success. She also wrote a number of children's books, and was practically interested in various London charities, several of which she helped to found.
Hall's notoriously sanctimonious personality was often satirised, and he is regularly cited as the model for the character of Pecksniff in Charles Dickens
's novel Martin Chuzzlewit
. As Julian Hawthorne wrote,
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
who is best known for his editorship of The Art Journal
The Art Journal
The Art Journal, published in London, was the most important Victorian magazine on art. It was founded in 1839 by Hodgson & Graves, print publishers, 6 Pall Mall, with the title the Art Union Monthly Journal, the first issue of 750 copies appearing 15 February 1839.Hodgson & Graves hired Samuel...
and for his much-satirised personality.
Early years
Hall was born at the Geneva Barracks in WaterfordWaterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
. His father was Robert Hall (1753 - 10 January 1836, Chelsea), an army officer and, while in Ireland, engaged in working copper mines which ruined him. His mother supported the family of 12 children with her own business in Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. He married Ann Kent (b. 1765, Ottery St. Mary, Devonshire) at Topsham
Topsham, Devon
Topsham is a suburb of Exeter in the county of Devon, England, on the east side of the River Exe, immediately north of its confluence with the River Clyst and the former's estuary, between Exeter and Exmouth. Although village-sized, with a current population of around 5,023, it was designated a...
, 6 April 1790. Ann Hall supported the family, including 12 children, by running a business in Cork, Ireland.
Hall was the fourth son.
In 1821, he left Ireland and went to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He entered law studies at the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
in 1824, but never practiced, though he was finally called to the bar in 1841. Instead, he became a reporter and editor, including:
- Reporter, ParliamentaryParliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
(1823) - Reporter, Representative (1823)
- Editor, 'Literary Observer'
- Art reviews/criticism, the British Press (same period)
- Reporter, New Times (1825)
- Founder/editor, The Amulet, a Christian and Literary Remembrancer, (annually, 1826-1837)
- Editor, Spirit and Manners of the Age(1826)
- Editor, Morning Journal (1829-30)
- Sub-editor/Editor New Monthly Magazine (1830-1836)'s Juvenile Library
- Author, "History of France", Colburn
- Writer, Watchman, Wesleyan Methodist newspaper, (1835)
- Start-up, The Town, conservative whig journal, (1836)
- Sub-editor, John Bull (1837)
- General Manager, Britannia (1839)
Art magazine years
In 1839, Hodgson & Graves, print publishers, employed Hall to edit their new publication, Art Union Monthly Journal. Not long after, Hall purchased a chief share of the periodical. By 1843, he started giving an expensive, unprofitable novelty, sculpture engravings. In 1848, with Hall still unable to turn a profit, the London publisher George VirtueGeorge Virtue
George C. Virtue, Esq. was a 19th-century London publisher, well-known for printing engravings. His publishing house was located at 26 Ivy Lane, Paternoster Row, London, EC.-Pictorial publisher:...
purchased into the Art Union Monthly Journal, retaining Hall as editor. Virtue renamed the periodical The Art Journal
The Art Journal
The Art Journal, published in London, was the most important Victorian magazine on art. It was founded in 1839 by Hodgson & Graves, print publishers, 6 Pall Mall, with the title the Art Union Monthly Journal, the first issue of 750 copies appearing 15 February 1839.Hodgson & Graves hired Samuel...
in 1849.
In 1851, Hall engraved 150 pictures from the private collection of the Queen and Prince Albert, and the engravings were featured in the journal's Great Exhibition edition. Though this edition was quite popular, the journal remained unprofitable, forcing Hall to sell his share of The Art Journal to Virtue, but staying on as editor.
As editor, Hall exposed the profits that custom-houses were earning by importing Old Master
Old Master
"Old Master" is a term for a European painter of skill who worked before about 1800, or a painting by such an artist. An "old master print" is an original print made by an artist in the same period...
s, and showed how paintings are manufactured in England. While Art Journal became notable for its honest portrayal of fine arts, the consequence of Hall's actions was the almost unsaleability of old masters such as a Raphael or a Titian. His intention was to support modern British art by promoting young artists and attacking the market for unreliable old masters. The early issues of the Journal strongly supported the artists of The Clique
The Clique
The Clique was a group of English artists formed by Richard Dadd in the late 1830s. Other members were Augustus Egg, Alfred Elmore, William Powell Frith, Henry Nelson O'Neil, John Phillip and Edward Matthew Ward....
and attacked the Pre-Raphaelites. Hall remained deeply unsympathetic to Pre-Raphaeliism, publishing several attacks upon the movement. Hall resigned the editorship in 1880, and was granted a Civil List
Civil list
-United Kingdom:In the United Kingdom, the Civil List is the name given to the annual grant that covers some expenses associated with the Sovereign performing their official duties, including those for staff salaries, State Visits, public engagements, ceremonial functions and the upkeep of the...
pension for his long and valuable services to literature and art.
Personal life
His wife, Anna Maria FieldingAnna Maria Hall
Anna Maria Hall was an Irish novelist who often published as "Mrs. S.C. Hall".She was born Anna Maria Fielding in Dublin, but left Ireland at the age of 15...
(1800-1881), became well known (publishing as "Mrs S.C. Hall"), for her numerous articles, novels, sketches of Irish life, and plays. Two of the last, The Groves of Blarney and The French Refugee, were produced in London with success. She also wrote a number of children's books, and was practically interested in various London charities, several of which she helped to found.
Hall's notoriously sanctimonious personality was often satirised, and he is regularly cited as the model for the character of Pecksniff in Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
's novel Martin Chuzzlewit
Martin Chuzzlewit
The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit is a novel by Charles Dickens, considered the last of his picaresque novels. It was originally serialized between 1843-1844. Dickens himself proclaimed Martin Chuzzlewit to be his best work, but it was one of his least popular novels...
. As Julian Hawthorne wrote,
Hall was a genuine comedy figure. Such oily and voluble sanctimoniousness needed no modification to be fitted to appear before the footlights in satirical drama. He might be called an
ingenuous hypocrite, an artless humbug, a veracious liar, so obviously were the traits indicated innate and organic in him rather than acquired. Dickens, after all, missed some of the finer shades of the character; there can be little doubt that Hall was in his own private contemplation as shining an object of moral perfection as he portrayed himself before others. His perversity was of the spirit, not of the letter, and thus escaped his own recognition. His indecency and
falsehood were in his soul, but not in his consciousness; so that he paraded them at the very moment that he was claiming for himself all that was their opposite.