**Samuel William Fores (1761–1838), often credited simply as S. W. Fores, was a leading English publisher and printseller whose Piccadilly shop became a landmark during the Golden Age of Georgian caricature.**

Born on 8 March 1761, Fores was the son of a cloth merchant and stationer-bookseller. He was apprenticed to his father in 1775 and completed his training in 1782. The following year he established his own printselling business at No. 3 Piccadilly, later moving to larger premises at 50 (later renumbered 41) Piccadilly. He specialized in hand-colored, singly issued satirical prints and caricatures, commissioning work from leading artists while also acquiring plates from competitors.

Fores published notable series such as Thomas Rowlandson’s *The Comforts of Bath* (1798) and G. M. Woodward’s *Pigmy Revels* (1800). He also issued books, including the bilingual guide *Fores New Guide to Foreigners*, and produced individual prints by artists including James Gillray, George Cruikshank, Isaac Cruikshank, and Charles Williams. His shop functioned as a “Caricature Warehouse” and even a small museum, displaying curiosities like a mummified hand and a model guillotine to attract visitors; admission was charged but refundable against purchases.

Politically, Fores supported William Pitt and opposed Charles James Fox; his prints frequently satirized the French Revolution and Napoleon. He faced occasional prosecution for the allegedly libellous content of his publications. Fores married twice and had several children; two sons, George Thomas Fores and Arthur Blücher Fores, succeeded him in the business, which continued publishing sporting prints and remained active for more than two centuries.

Fores died on 3 February 1838 at age 77 and was buried in the family vault at St. James Church, Jermyn Street. His firm’s extensive output—hundreds of prints now held in major collections—helped shape the visual culture of late Georgian and Regency Britain, cementing his legacy as one of London’s foremost caricature publishers.