Cuff was an engraver and served his apprenticeship in Camberwell, London.  He became skilled in mezzotint and lithography as well as engraving, and later became a painter and watercolour artist too. Some of his works were exhibited at the Royal Academy of Art in London during the 1860s and 70s.

John Ruskin employed Cuff to engrave a number of his drawings, so that they could be reproduced in his books. He wrote of Cuff’s patience in recreating his drawings, describing his work as ‘lovely’ and ‘magnificent’. He also described Cuff’s ‘careful and singular engraver’s skill’.