Note 8 — HOGARTH.
Reading edition
On the print of Hudibras and the Lawyer is William Hogart delin. et sculp'. This Mr. Nichols considers as a proof that Hogarth had not yet disused the original mode in which he spelt his name.
From his shop-bill, and every preceding print, I am inclined to think he never had more than one mode of spelling his name. The concluding h being in this instance omitted, might arise from carelessness, or a failure of the aquafortis. His father's Latin letter, dated 1697, proves that he inserted the final h, and I can discover no reason why his son should discard it.