Rudolph Ackermann (1764-1834) was a man of many talents; carriage-maker, artist, inventor, lithographer, publisher, bookseller, publicist and entrepreneur, he also worked tirelessly to raise funds to relieve  his native  Germany after the devastation of Napoleon's invasion. He published works which have created the most lasting visual images of the Regency period; illustrating and promoting the latest styles and fashions in dress, furnishing, domestic architecture, gardens and foreign travel. His monthly magazine The Repository of Arts (1809-1828) remains a primary visual source book for later historians of design. His Microcosm of London (1808-10), paired the talents of Thomas Rowlandson and Augustus Pugin to create a landmark work of topographical publishing. He also promoted innovations in carriage design, water-proofing material, chemistry, lithography and steam power. 

This new biography by John Ford includes extensive new research into Ackermann's life, drawing on his papers, accounts and other untapped sources and provides a wealth of material to those interested in early modern print culture and the arts of the Regency period.