Pierre-Philippe Choffard

While still very young he showed great aptitude for drawing flowers and ornaments, and was placed with an engraver of maps named Dheulland, but he afterwards received lessons from Babel, an engraver of ornaments, and is said to have had also the benefit of the advice of Nicolas Edelinck, Balechou, and Cochin.

Commencing with the cartouches of maps, which date from 1753 to 1756, he next engraved invitation and address cards and book-plates, and these drew attention to his abilities and secured for him the commission to execute the tail-pieces for the celebrated edition of the 'Contes' of La Fontaine published by the Fermiers-Généraux in 1762.

Besides these, the ornamental pieces which he executed for the 'Voyage pittoresque de Naples et de Sicile' of Saint-Non, published in 1781, and the plates of 'Les Amants surpris,' 'Les Amours champêtres,' and 'Marchez tout doux, parlez tout bas,' after Baudouin, and a view of Narbonne, after Monnet, must be ranked among his best works.

Choffard wrote in 1804 a 'Notice historique sur l'art de la Gravure,' and was about to undertake a more extensive work when he was struck down by death at Paris in 1809.

Portalis and Béraldi give in their 'Graveurs du Dix-huitieme Siècle' a detailed catalogue of his engravings, which number 855.