George Tattersall

Who was George Tattersall?

George Tattersall was a sporting artist and architect.

Born in Hyde Park Corner, London, he was a member of the family which operated the Tattersall's horse market. In 1836 he compiled a guide to The Lakes of England illustrated with forty-three charming line drawings, and he showed skill as an architect by building various stables and kennels, including the Tattersall stud stables at Willesden. His experience in this and similar undertakings led him to publish Sporting Architecture.

In the same year, under the pseudonym "Wildrake," he published Cracks of the Day, describing and illustrating sixty-five racehorses. He also contributed illustrations to the Hunting Reminiscences of Nimrod, the Book of Sports, and the New Sporting Almanack. He was for a brief period the editor of the Almanack and Sporting Magazine.

Shortly after a visit to the United States he married, in 1837, Helen Pritchard; they had four children. He died of brain fever at his home in Cadogan Place, London and was buried at West Norwood Cemetery.