What kinds of work did William Hogarth do as a copper engraver?

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The Painter and His Pug, self-portrait by William Hogarth, oil on canvas, 1745; in the Tate Gallery, London. — William Hogarth *The Painter and His Pug*, self-portrait by William Hogarth, oil on canvas, 1745; in the Tate Gallery, London.

As a copper engraver, William Hogarth earned his living by producing various commercial works, including trade cards, tickets, and book illustrations.1

While he initially sought to escape the limitations of his early training as a silversmith—where he had learned to engrave armorial designs on gold and silver—he relied on these copper engraving commissions to maintain his livelihood during his early career. Later, he became widely renowned for his moral and satirical engravings, such as the eight-part series A Rake's Progress. To protect these works from being unscrupulously pirated, he successfully campaigned for legislation known as the Hogarth Act in 1735, which established the first artist's copyright for engravings.1234