Harry Furniss (26 March 185414 January 1925) was a British illustrator. He established his career on the ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication i ...

'' before moving to ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pu ...

''. He also illustrated

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...

's novel ''

Sylvie and Bruno ''Sylvie and Bruno'', first published in 1889, and its second volume ''Sylvie and Bruno Concluded'' published in 1893, form the last novel by Lewis Carroll published during his lifetime. Both volumes were illustrated by Harry Furniss. The nov ...

''.

Biography

Although Furniss was born in Wexford, Ireland, he identified himself as English, his father being English and his mother Scottish. He was educated at Dublin’s Wesley College. His first job as an illustrator was for the ''

Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News The ''Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News'' was a British weekly magazine founded in 1874 and published in London. In 1945 it changed its name to the ''Sport and Country'', and in 1957 to the ''Farm and Country'', before closing in 1970. His ...

'', and when it was purchased by the owner of ''

The Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication i ...

'' he moved to that magazine. There he produced illustrations of social events such as the

Boat Race Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other w ...

, Goodwood and even the annual fancy dress ball at Brookwood Asylum, as well as acting as a special correspondent reporting on aspects of life in contemporary England, such as the scandalous divorce trial of

Lady Colin Campbell Georgia Arianna, Lady Colin Campbell (''née'' Ziadie, born 17 August 1949), also known as Lady C, is a British Jamaican author, socialite, and television personality who has published seven books about the British royal family. They include ...

. The following extract from his autobiography gives due warning that his illustrations should not always be thought of as being produced by a witness to the events depicted.

''One boat race, for example, is very much like another. Some years ago I executed a panoramic series of sketches of the University Race from start to finish, and as they were urgently wanted, the drawings had to be sent in the same day. Early in the morning, before the break of fast, I found myself at Putney, rowing up to Mortlake, taking notes of the different points on the way — local colour through a fog. Getting home before the Londoners started for the scene, I was at work, and the drawings — minus the boats — were sent in shortly after the news of the race.''

After some years Furniss moved to ''

The Graphic ''The Graphic'' was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company Illustrated Newspapers Ltd. Thomas's brother Lewis Samuel Thomas was a co-founder. The premature death of the latt ...

'', initially writing and illustrating a series of supplements titled "Life in Parliament", and he comments that "from this time forward it would be difficult to name any illustrated paper with which I have not at sometime or other been connected". His most famous humorous drawings were published in ''

'', for which he started working in 1880, and to which he contributed over 2,600 drawings. He left ''Punch'' in 1894 when its owners discovered that he had sold one of his 'Punch' drawings to

Pears Soap Pears transparent soap is a British brand of soap first produced and sold in 1807 by Andrew Pears, at a factory just off Oxford Street in London. It was the world's first mass-market translucent soap. Under the stewardship of advertising pionee ...

for use in an advertising campaign. He illustrated

's novel ''

'' in 1889 and '' Sylvie and Bruno Concluded'' in 1893. Carroll and Furniss sometimes produced both pictures and text simultaneously. Carroll exerted strong control over Furniss' illustration, to such an extent that Furniss would pretend to be out when Carroll called at his home. After completing ''Sylvie and Bruno Concluded'' Furniss vowed never to work for the author again. In 1890, he illustrated the Badminton Library's volume on ''Golf''. On leaving ''

'' Furniss brought out his own humorous magazine ''Lika Joko'', but when this failed he moved to

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

where he worked as a writer and actor in the fledgling film industry and where, in 1914, he pioneered the first animated cartoon film for

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...

. His two-volume autobiography, titled ''The Confessions of a Caricaturist'' was published in 1902, and a further volume of personal recollections and anecdotes, ''Harry Furniss At Home'', was published in 1904. Furniss wrote and illustrated twenty-nine books of his own, including ''Some Victorian Men'' and ''Some Victorian Women'' and illustrated thirty-four works by other authors, including the complete works of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

and

William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel ''Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...

2018 Refurbished Furniss Family Grave Site, Hastings, England

On some projects, like his illustrations for

G. E. Farrow George Edward Farrow (17 March 1862 – 1919) born in Ipswich in England, was a noted British children's book author of whose life little is known. Early life The son of George Farrow, a cement manufacturer in Ipswich, and his wife Emil ...

's ''Wallypug'' books, Furniss collaborated with his daughter, fellow artist Dorothy Furniss (1879–1944). Furniss married Marian Rogers in the Strand in 1877.

Bibliography

Written and illustrated by Harry Furniss

*'' Royal Academy, an artistic joke'' — 1887 *'' M.P.'s in Session'' — 1889 *'' Australian Sketches- Made on Tour'' — 1899 *'' The Confessions of a Caricaturist'' — 1901 *'' Harry Furniss At Home'' — 1904 *'' Some Victorian Women - Good, Bad, and Indifferent'' — 1923 *'' Some Victorian Men'' — 1924 *'' The Two Pins Club'' — 1925

Works illustrated by Harry Furniss

*''

Romps ''Romps'' was a series of tales illustrated by Harry Furniss, with verses by Horace Lennard and printed by Edmund Evans in 1885. The comical picture book depicts children romping in various settings. For the illustrations, Harry Furniss used his ...

'' with verses by

Horace Lennard Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his '' ...

, printed by Edmund Evans — 1885 *''

'' by

— 1889 *'' Brayhard, The Adventures of One Ass and Seven Champions'' — 1890 *'' Sylvie and Bruno Concluded'' by Lewis Carroll — 1893 *'' The Wallypug of Why'' by

; 1895 *'' Gamble Gold'' by Judge

Edward Abbott Parry Sir Edward Abbott Parry (2 October 1863 – 1 December 1943) was a British judge and dramatist. Parry was born in London into a prominent Welsh family, the second son of barrister John Humffreys Parry and grandson of antiquary John Humffreys Parr ...

— 1907 *'' Charles Dickens Library'' by

— 1910 *''

'' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; 1885 *A Diary of the Salisbury Parliament, 1886-1892 by Henry W. Lucy; 1892

References

External links