Pelham, Peter (c. 1695–1751)

English-born engraver. He was considered to be the first mezzotint engraver in the USA, as in his portrait of Cotton Mather (1728). He was born in London, England, apprenticed as a mezzotint engraver (1713–26), and emigrated to Boston (1727), where he worked as a schoolmaster and engraver. He was the stepfather of the painter John Singleton Copley, father of the engraver Henry Pelham, and a colleague of John Smibert.