John Alais was a skilled engraver working in London and Argentina.
Career in London
In 1792 John Alais, aged 14, was apprenticed to George Graham of Chelsea, stipple engraver and watercolourist. Very little is known of his antecedents or early career but his later emigration to Argentina may imply he had family there. In 1799 he married Jane Browning at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster, London, and they had a total of ten children. In 1802 he took as his apprentice George Palmer, by which time he had moved out of noisome central London across the river Thames to the then rural area of Battersea Fields. John Alais, like his near contemporary, Francesco Bartolozzi, used the stipple technique which was a mixture of etching and engraving on metal plates, using a roulette, a punch and a curved burin for flickwork. This gave a softer and more subtle effect than the line technique mostly employed by the cartoonists of the time such as Thomas Rowlandson and James Gilray. He seems to have worked with various artists including George Cruikshank and Adam Buck, but at least between 1802 and 1815 was published almost exclusively by John Roach of The Britannia Office, Russell Court, Drury Lane, London. He became known for producing portraits of actors and actresses, particularly those appearing at the Drury Lane and Covent Garden theatres, thus leaving a large contribution to the history of London theatre. However, he was sought for reproduction of their works which would increase their income. This was the beginning of the era when the middle classes wanted art on their walls; if they could not afford originals, they could and did buy engravings.
Career in Argentina
Some time after 1826 he left England and went out to Argentina with most of his family. One writer declares that he was "called upon" by Bernardino Rivadavia. It is possible that the two men met in London where the first President of Argentina had his portrait painted by Turner. His reputation followed him: coming across two of his sons in San Pedro, the traveller, J.A. Beaumont described their father as "an engraver and mechanic of considerable achievement, well-known in London." Besides spending time teaching his technique, Alais continued engraving in Argentina and, although less tangible evidence is to be found of his work, it was obviously well thought of and his reputation is known there to this day. He has been described as "a precursor of engraving technique in Argentina". He was commissioned by the translator to provide the engraving of Lord Chesterfield in the first edition of Chesterfield's Letters, He also produced portraits of General Tomas Iriarte himself and of General Manuel Rosas. When he abandoned London for Argentina, John Alais left behind only a married daughter and his eldest son, William Wolfe Alais who was already himself becoming known as an artist and engraver. Two of John's English-born grandsons, William John and Alfred Clarence Alais, were very well-known engravers, and a great-grandson, Ernest William Wolfe Alais, was not only an engraver but a writer of children's and Sexton Blake stories. A grandson born in Argentina, Juan Alais, was a famous guitarist and composer.
