Beschrijving
Stipple engraving of Thomas Astle
Thomas Astle was an English antiquary, palaeographer, and archivist who became one of the leading scholars of ancient manuscripts in the 18th century. He worked on organizing and preserving British state records, served as Keeper of the Records at the Tower of London, and was a Fellow of both the Royal Society and the Society of Antiquaries of London. His most influential work, The Origin and Progress of Writing (1784), helped establish the study of historical handwriting and document authentication in England.
Engraving by W. Ridley

