Rouse, George (McKechnie Section 2)

Recorded by Coke (Confessions of an Incurable Colleçtor). A little information was added by Jackson (Dictionary). None of Rouse's work has been identified, and the only evidence of his existence is the following advertisement, dated 1755, which Coke quotes: 'Gentlemen and Ladies' Pictures drawn in Indian ink in a small oval at half a guinea each with frame and glass by George Rouse at the Bridge Ward Coffee House, under the Piazza on London Bridge.' Jackson continues the excerpt with this sentence: 'He waits on Ladies and Gentlemen at their own houses if required.'

It would seem, therefore, that small black profiles in Indian ink, showing sitters in the costume of the late 1750s, might possibly be attributed to Rouse. It is not known whether he used a trade label. Since competition in the field of silhouette art was so slight at this date, his profiles may not even be signed.