Felix Octavius Carr Darley (June 23, 1822 – March 27, 1888), often credited as F. O. C. Darley, was an American

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

, known for his

illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vi ...

s in works by well-known 19th-century authors, including

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonial and indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

, Mary Mapes Dodge,

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (né Hathorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associat ...

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...

, George Lippard,

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...

, Donald Grant Mitchell, Clement Clarke Moore, Francis Parkman,

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (185 ...

and

Nathaniel Parker Willis Nathaniel Parker Willis (January 20, 1806 – January 20, 1867), also known as N. P. Willis,Baker, 3 was an American writer, poet and editor who worked with several notable American writers including Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfello ...

Biography

Darley was born on June 23, 1822, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Darley was a self-taught and prolific artist who started out as a staff artist for a

publishing company, where he was given a wide variety of assignments. He later moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and his work began to appear in magazines such as ''

Harper's Weekly ''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper (publisher), Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many su ...

'' and in books by various publishers. Darley made 500 drawings for Benson John Lossing's ''History of the United States''. Among his

lithographic Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...

illustrations are those for

's " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", and some scenes in Indian life. The swing and vigor of his style, his facility, and versatility and the high average merit of his numerous works, make him one of the most noteworthy of American illustrators. Darley signed a contract with

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

on January 31, 1843, to create original illustrations for his upcoming literary journal '' The Stylus''. The contract, which was through July 1, 1844, requested at least three illustrations per month, "on wood or paper as required," but no more than five, for $7 per illustration. ''The Stylus'' was never actually produced but Darley provided illustrations for the final installments of the first serial publication of Poe's award-winning tale " The Gold-Bug" later that year. In 1848, Darley provided the drawings for the first fully illustrated edition of Irving's "

Rip Van Winkle "Rip Van Winkle" () is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in Colonial history of the United States, colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Du ...

", which was printed and distributed by the American Art-Union.Callow, James T. ''Kindred Spirits: Knickerbocker Writers and American Artists, 1807–1855''. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1967: 184. That same year, Darley also illustrated an edition of Irving's '' The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.'' and then his '' Wolfert's Roost'' in 1855. In 1851, Darley was elected into the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

as an honorary member. In 1852, he was appointed a full academician at the academy. At the age of thirty-seven, Darley married Jane Colburn in 1859. Over his career, he produced nearly 350 drawings for James Fenimore Cooper, later collected in a several-volume edition of Cooper's novels printed from 1859 to 1861. In 1868, following a visit to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, he published ''Sketches Abroad with Pen and Pencil''. His water color paintings of incidents in American history are full of spirit and include bank-note

vignette Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...

s. Darley died in 1888 at his home in

Claymont, Delaware Claymont is a census-designated place (CDP) in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Claymont was 9,895. History The community now known as Claymont started on the banks of Naamans Creek where i ...

, and was buried at

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery, located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, is the first rural or garden cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brahmins, and is a National Historic Landmark. Dedicated in ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

. His Victorian mansion, located in Claymont, is now known as the Darley House and was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1974.

Illustrations

File:Diedrich Knickerbocker.jpg, Frontispiece for

's '' A History of New York'' Image:F. O. C. Darley illustration - A Visit From Saint Nicholas - 1862 - Project Gutenberg eText 17382.jpg, Darley illustration from an 1862 print of '' A Visit From St. Nicholas'' by Clement Clarke Moore Image:Ichabods chase.jpg, Illustration for

's " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" File:On The Trail F.O.C Darley.jpg, ''On The Trail'', now housed at

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum is a public art museum located in the Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded and opened in 1934, it holds collections from the mid-19th century that were amassed substantially ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

File:F.O.C. Darley and Alexander Hay Ritchie - Sherman's March to the Sea.jpg, ''Sherman's March to the Sea'', now housed at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

References

Notes
Attribution *

External links

* *
Illustrations by FOC Darley, American Illustrator 1821-1888A Visit from St. Nicholas
by Clement Clarke Moore, in an 1862 edition illustrated by F. O. C. Darley, from

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...

The Winterthur Library
Overview of an archival collection on F. O. C. Darley.
Society of Illustrators Felix Octavius Carr Darley''A Visit from Saint Nicholas''
From the Collections at the

Artwork by F. O. C. Darley
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Darley, F. O. C. 1822 births 1888 deaths 19th-century American male artists 19th-century American painters 19th-century American illustrators American male painters 19th-century American printmakers Artists from Philadelphia Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery People from Claymont, Delaware Painters from Pennsylvania Painters from Delaware