(1818 - 1899)
Charles William Sharpe was born in Birmingham; the son of engraver William Sharpe. His sisters, Eliza and Louisa, were both watercolourists. Sharpe worked as a line, stipple and mixed method engraver based in Islington, London, engraving works by well-known contemporary artists. His works included portraits and sporting, historical, genre and sentimental subjects. By 1871 he had moved to Burnham in Berkshire, where he lived with his wife, Ellen, and some of their eight children. Sharpe’s profession was given as ‘historical line engraver’ in most census records. However, by 1891 he was still based in Burnham but presumably retired, as he is described as ‘living on own means’.
