A Life in Lines and Verse The traces of Samuel Collings remain scattered through the archives of the eighteenth century, appearing most clearly between 1780 and 1790. He was a man who moved easily between the precision of a painter’s brush and the sharp wit of a caricaturator. While his presence in the historical record is brief, it is marked by a notable versatility. He did not merely paint; he also wrote, contributing verses to publi…