John George Sowerby

The grandson of naturalist James Sowerby,[1] his paintings were exhibited in the Royal Academy of Arts, and his children's book illustrations were generally well received.

[6] Afternoon Tea also suffered from printing inconsistencies and colour misalignment, the result of somewhat haphazard assembly by three different engraving firms before publication.

[3] She portrayed John Sowerby, as the owner of a failing glassworks in the north-east of England in dispute with his children, in her play Rutherford and Son (1912).

[9]: 27  In 1880, the Ellison Glass Works became a limited private company, and in 1881, John George Sowerby was elected the first chairman of the board.

Two ventures into higher-end artistic glass and pottery produced fine work but lost money, and John George was removed as chairman in November 1883.