Jolliffe, John (McKechnie Section 1)

See Section Three for main entry

As will be seen from the main entry on him, Jolliffe started early as a profilist and had already earned a hundred pounds from producing profiles (at half-a-crown each) by 1758. This means that by this date he had taken at least eight hundred silhouettes, which he probably cut. It is possible that these were merely cut from white paper, or perhaps the paper was blackened afterwards; I have seen no surviving signed specimen of these early examples.

It is evident from some of the figures in Jolliffe's large group silhouette of the Ashburnham family, taken in

c. 1767, that it was his practice by this date to use paper which he had blackened, possibly with Indian ink. It is obvious, from the 'halo' of gum which surrounds the children's portraits in this group, that these were first cut and then stuck in their places on the silhouette.

862

Some of Jolliffe's very early cut work has yet to be identified. Since all the members of White's club had sat to him by 1758, a large proportion of his sitters were probably men.

Typical of Jolliffe's cut work by 1762 are the plain black figures in full-length, including those of children, such as can be seen in the Ashburnham family group. Since so few profilists were working professionally during the early years of Jolliffe's career, bust-length silhouettes, showing costume of the 1750s or 1760s, might be suspected as being by his hand, but, unless they were signed, could be amateur work. The earliest known signed profile by Jolliffe (which was painted) bears a date of 1762. Surviving cut profiles by him might be of either white or blackened paper.

Jolliffe was certainly using a trade label in c. 1767. The signature 'Jolliffe, 1762' was appended to the earliest surviving profile by him (mentioned above).