Career
Samuel Alken entered the Royal Academy Schools, London, as a sculptor in 1772. He published A New Book of Ornaments Designed and Etched by Samuel Alken in 1779, and later established himself as one of the most competent engravers in the new technique of aquatint. His plates for Sixteen views of the lakes in Cumberland and Westmorland after drawings John Emes and John Smith were published in 1796, and a set of aquatint views of North Wales after drawings by the Review
Brian Broughton in 1798.
The Alken family claims several well-known artists.
