Little is known on the exact background of Benjamin Motte Sr., but his last record as a publisher is from 1712, when he was still registered with his son, Charles, as his apprentice, although he died two years prior in St Botoloph's Parish, London.
[1] He began publishing in the 1680s and was the printer for the Parish Clerks Company from 1694 - 1709, producing such works like the Parish-Clerk's Guide.
[1] Motte's edition of Andrea Pozzo's Rules and Examples of Perspective Proper for Painters and Architects (1707) was the first edition of the work in English.
The work was also known as "John Sturt's 'Masterpiece'", and John Sturt's presented the work to Queen Anne as "a specimen of English engraving".
[2] James Harris claimed that the work was "the most elaborate and expensive architectural book ever produced in this country".