Dorothea Braby (17 October 1909 – 1987) was a British artist. Although she had a long career as a freelance designer producing work for several well-known companies, Braby is best known for the book illustrations she created, particularly those for the

Golden Cockerel Press The Golden Cockerel Press was an English fine press operating between 1920 and 1961. History The private press made handmade limited editions of classic works. The type was hand-set and the books were printed on handmade paper, and sometimes ...

Early life

Braby was born in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

and grew up in

Putney Putney () is an affluent district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ...

, the third child of Percy Braby, a solicitor, and Maud Churton Braby, a journalist and author who had been born in China.

1911 United Kingdom census The United Kingdom Census 1911 of 2 April 1911 was the 12th nationwide census conducted in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The total population of the United Kingdom was approximately 45,221,000, with 36,070,000 recorded in England ...

for 3, Hazlewell Road, Putney, London S.W. Braby was educated at the St Felix School in

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the North Sea, in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth, Suffolk, River Blyth in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths ...

, and then from 1926 to 1930 at the

Central School of Arts and Crafts The Central School of Art and Design was a art school, school of fine arts, fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School ...

in London. For a time she was enrolled at the

Heatherley School of Fine Art The Heatherley School of Fine Art is an independent art school in London. The school was named after Thomas Heatherley who took over as the school's principal from James Mathews Leigh (when it was named "Leigh's"). Founded in 1845, the school ...

and also studied art in Paris and Florence.

Career

Braby's work was mostly as an illustrator of books, including several volumes produced by the

. She spent eighteen months working on their 1948 edition of the ''

Mabinogion The ''Mabinogion'' () is a collection of the earliest Welsh prose stories, compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, created –1410, as well as a few earlier frag ...

''. For ''The Saga of Llywarch the Old'', Braby created colour engravings that resembled mediaeval ivory tablets. Among the other books she illustrated were a 1950 edition of

John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tub ...

' ''Poems'' and a 1954 edition of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

's '' Lord Arthur Savile's Crime''. Her own volume, ''The Way of Wood Engraving'' was published in 1953. Braby exhibited widely, both in Britain and overseas. The

Society of Women Artists The Society of Women Artists (SWA) is a British art body dedicated to celebrating and promoting fine art created by women. It was founded as the Society of Female Artists (SFA) in 1855, offering women artists the opportunity to exhibit and sell ...

, the Hampstead Artists' Council, and the

Arts Council of Great Britain The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council (l ...

all showed works by Braby. During her design career, Braby also produced work for ''

The Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'', '' The Studio'', and

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. In 1959, she gave up working as an artist for a full-time career as a social worker. A memorial exhibition was held at

Burgh House Burgh House is a historic house located on New End Square in Hampstead, London, that includes the Hampstead Museum. The house is also listed as Burgh House & Hampstead Museum. Brief history Burgh House was constructed in 1704 during the r ...

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, in 1988.

Selected works

Books illustrated by Braby included * ''Mr Chambers and Perephone'' by C.Whitfield,

, 1937 * ''The Ninety-First Psalm'' by C.Whitfield, Golden Cockerel Press, 1944 * ''The Lottery Ticket'' by V.G.Calderon, Golden Cockerel Press, 1945 * ''The Mabinogion'' by V.G.Calderon, Golden Cockerel Press, 1948 * ''Gilgamesh, King of Erech'' by F.L. Lucas, Golden Cockerel Press, 1948 * ''Poems'' by

Folio Society The Folio Society is an independent London-based publisher, founded by Charles Ede in 1947 and incorporated in 1971. Formerly privately owned, it became an employee ownership trust in 2021. It produces illustrated hardback fine press edit ...

, 1950 * ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'', Golden Cockerel Press, 1952 * ''The Fearless Treasure'' by

Noel Streatfeild Mary Noel Streatfeild OBE (24 December 1895 – 11 September 1986) was an English author, best known for children's books including the "Shoes" books, which were not a series (though some books made references to others). Random House, the U.S. ...

, Joseph, 1953 * ''Lord Arthur Savile's Crime'' by

, Folio Society, 1954 * ''The Semi-Attached Couple'' by

Emily Eden Emily Eden (3 March 1797 – 5 August 1869) was an English poet and novelist who gave witty accounts of life in the 19th century. She wrote a celebrated account of her travels in India, and two novels that sold well. She was also an accomplishe ...

, Folio Society, 1954 * ''The Saga of Llywarch the Old'' by Glyn Jones, Golden Cockerel Press, 1955 Braby also wrote and illustrated ''The Commandments'', published by Lewis in 1946, and ''The Way of Wood Engraving'', published in 1953.

References

External links

*
Illustrations by Braby in the Victoria & Albert Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braby, Dorothea 1909 births 1987 deaths 20th-century British painters 20th-century English women artists 20th-century British engravers Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design Alumni of the Heatherley School of Fine Art Artists from the London Borough of Wandsworth English illustrators English wood engravers People educated at Saint Felix School People from Wandsworth People from Putney British women engravers