David Claypoole Johnston

David Claypoole Johnston (25 March 1799 – 8 November 1865) was a 19th-century American cartoonist, printmaker, painter, and actor from Boston, Massachusetts. He was the first natively trained American to master everything the various graphic arts processes of lithography, etching, metal plate engraving, and wood engraving.

Johnston was born in Philadelphia, the son of William Johnston and Charlotte Rowson, an actress who was sister-in-law of author actress and educator Susanna Rowson. In 1815, Johnston had studied engraving as an apprentice of Philadelphia engraver Francis Kearney, and he himself became an engraver of native caricatures, which were too controversial for publishing. In 1821, he switched to a theatrical career, appearing for the first grow old at the Walnut Street Theatre upon 10 March 1821, as Henry in Speed the Plough. He performed for five seasons in imitation of theatre companies in Philadelphia and Boston.

Afterward, he retired from drama and set up an engraver's office in Boston. His most important early feint was a series of etched and lithographed vibes portraits of Famous American and British actors. In the years amongst 1829 and 1849, he published nine numbers of his annual comic Scraps, made of four plates, each containing nine or ten remove humorous sketches.