Bisset was born in Perth and received some education at a dame school. By the age of fifteen he was an artist's apprentice in Birmingham, becoming a miniature painter by 1785 and a fancy painter by 1797. He subsequently became a museum owner, shopkeeper and coiner of medals. He wrote several popular volumes of verse, and was fond of boasting in later life that he had sold as many as a hundred thousand copies of his various works. His most well-known poems were arguably “A Poetic Survey Round Birmingham” and “Ramble of the Gods Through Birmingham”, both from
A Poetic Survey Round Birmingham; With a Brief Description of the Different Curiosities and Manufactories of the Place: Intended as a Guide to Strangers(1800). Both poems effectively offer a guided tour of the city's…
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Citation: Van-Hagen, Stephen. "James Bisset". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 February 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12018, accessed 27 November 2024.]
