Grangerising

James Granger (1723-1776), an English clergyman and printcollector, was born in Dorset. His name has become a description for a hobby peculiar to the 18th and early 19th Century.

Extra-illustration or grangerising became popular during Bowyer's time. Granger is credited with beginning this fad when in 1769 he published a two volume Biographical History of England. This book was an attempt to create a system for describing English history that required an accompanying catalogue featuring engravings of notable figures.

In anticipation that readers may want to make their own additions to illustrate the text Granger left blank pages for them to do so. This became immensely popular at the time and many people enjoyed actively seeking out illustrations from other books to include in a Granger, and so grangerising became a common expression.

A side effect of this popular hobby was that books of portraits suddenly became expensive as collectors sought to fill their Grangers. In later years this practice has become less popular, not least because it led to the destruction of many valuable books.