George Bradshaw (29 July 1801 – 6 September 1853) was born at Windsor Bridge, Pendleton, in Salford, Lancashire. After school he was apprenticed to John Beale, a well-known engraver in Manchester, and in 1822 he set up his own business in Manchester as an engraver and printer. His reputation was built on his railway timetables, ‘Bradshaws’, although his guides to Britain’s waterways were also well-known and continued into the twentieth century. While touring Norway in 1853 he contracted cholera and died, and was buried in the cathedral cemetery in Oslo.
Information about Mr Bradshaw and his books is very factual, and somewhat dry; I wonder what he was like as a man? Can I detect a twinkle in his eye in his portrait? Is there a slight lift to the corner of his mouth? Did he actually undertake any of the journeys about which he wrote? He was married – I wonder how his wife regarded him – I need to investigate further!
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