> When the book’s plates required an illustrator, and he was unable to find a satisfactory one, he taught himself perspective drawing, then published a 1770 tutorial for aspiring artists titled A Familiar Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Perspective.

Shades of Knuth.

(For anyone unfamiliar with Donald Knuth’s prodigious dives into mathematical topography and related subjects, https://yakshav.es/the-patron-saint-of-yakshaves/ is a highly entertaining read. Even for those who are familiar it’s entertaining.)