William Henry Bartlett

William Henry Bartlett (26 March 1809 – 13 September 1854) 

Bartlett was born in Kentish Town, London, England on 26 March 1809. He was apprenticed to John Britton (1771–1857), and became one of the foremost illustrators of topography of his generation. He travelled throughout Britain, and in the mid and late 1840s he travelled extensively in the Balkans and the Middle East. He made four visits to North America between 1836 and 1852. 

Bartlett spent several months in Canada in 1838 sketching prominent sights such as the falls at Montmorency and Niagara, the fish market at Toronto, the view over Montréal, and the locks on the Rideau Canal at Ottawa. As well, he showed Canadians at their daily work: clearing the forest, fishing, rafting on the Ottawa, excavating the Long Sault Canal, bringing in nets at Wellington in Prince Edward County, ferrying cattle in the Eastern Townships, and building the esplanade at Québec C. The many engravings that illustrate the 2 volumes of Canadian Scenery (1842) constitute an important and attractive documentation of living conditions in the Maritimes and the Canadas in 1838.