Born in Jamaica in 1784, Titford was an accountant and botanist who, after being reared in London, returned to the Caribbean and traveled extensively in North America prior to the publication of Sketches (the author's only known publication). Throughout his travels, Titford collected seeds and plants, which he sent to the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce in London, together with over fifty drawings and a description of each type classified under the Linnaean taxonomy. He was later elected a corresponding member of the society, as stated in the title-page of Sketches, which was issued in London in six parts between 1811 and 1812. The list of subscribers (lacking in the present copy) included the prince regent, Louis XVIII of France, the Royal Institution, the Royal Society of Arts, and many eminent botanists in England, Jamaica, and North America. The Critical Review of November 1811 described the first parts of Sketches as "a most excellent work for persons learning botany and all things pertaining to natural history and associated sciences" (DNB).