George Willdey

George Willdey, was an enthusiastic self-promoter. He was one of the first in England to use newspapers for promotion and marketing, even if his notices were prone to hyperbole and self-aggrandizement. Born in 1676, he apprenticed to John Yarwell and Ralph Sterrop at the Spectaclemakers’ Company in 1695. In 1707 he set up his own business selling a multitude of products. From optical instruments, spectacles, toys, china, glass, silver, snuff boxes, maps, prints etc. In fact, on this map, just below the cartouche is a illustrative advertisement for his wears. “Maps, Globes SpectaclesReading Glasses with those and many other useful Curiosities and made and sold… at the Great Toy Shop next ye Dogg Tavern in Ludgate Street.”