 Longacre 's first important commission were plates for S.F. Bradford 's Encyclopedia in 1820 ; an engraving of General Andrew Jackson by Longacre based on a portrait by Thomas Sully achieved wide sales . Longacre then agreed to engrave illustrations for Joseph and John Sanderson 's Biographies of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence , published in nine volumes between 1820 and 1827 . Although the venture was marked by criticism of the writing , sales were good enough that the project was completed . Numismatic writer Richard Snow suggests that the books sold on the strength of the quality of Longacre 's illustrations . Longacre also completed a series of studies of actors in their roles in 1826 for The American Theatre . 
