 Early in life he became a fellow of the Society of British Artists, and contributed for some years to their exhibitions.Jacob Perkins the American inventor developed siderography, a steel engraving technique, and in 1809 met Joseph Chessborough Dyer, an American who moved to England and acted as Perkins's agent.Perkins went to England in 1819, with his eldest son Ebenezer and associates, to bid for a Bank of England contract to print banknotes.