Nathaniel Sparks RE. studied at the Bristol School of Art and at the RCA under Frank Short. As a printer he was an accomplished technician and worked for a while under Whistler and was responsible for printing many of Whistler’s Venice etchings. Twenty one of his etchings can be found in “Fine Prints of the Year” between 1924 and 1934. Sparks printed all his own plates until he moved away from London in 1938. He was a close friend of Malcolm Osborne who etched a portrait of him in 1921. Examples of his work are held at the B.M. and V & A Museums among others. Ref: Guichard 1977.