Little is known about Tatersal beyond the facts surrounding the publication of
The Bricklayer’s Miscellany or, Poems on Several Subjectsin 1734, and its immediate reception; a bricklayer in Kingston-upon-Thames in Surrey, as William Christmas has noted, his poem “The Wish” suggests he was then a bachelor (
Eighteenth-Century English Labouring-Class Poets,
vol. I: 1700-40, 2003, p.275). Publication appears to have been made possible by the patronage of a Lord Richard Onslow. The collection’s title page includes the couplet: “Since Rustick Threshers entertain the Muse; / Why may not Bricklayers too their Subjects choose?” Tatersal’s dedication to his patron, like Collier’s preface, makes it further apparent that he is explicitly identifying himself with Stephen Duck, the…
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Citation: Van-Hagen, Stephen. "Robert Tatersal". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 March 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=11774, accessed 27 November 2024.]