Percy Bradshaw
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Percy Venner Bradshaw (27 November 1877 – 13 October 1965), who often signed PVB, was a British illustrator who also created the Press Art School, a correspondence course for drawing.


Biography

Percy Bradshaw was born in Hackney, part of London, on 27 November 1877, the son of William Bradshaw, a warehouseman, and his wife Frances Ann. He was baptised in Dover on 27 January 1878. He attended Newport Road School in Leyton where he reached fourth class. He then attended Ivydale Road School from 12 March 1888 to 30 March 1889, moving to Haberdashers' Aske' Boys School at
Hatcham Hatcham was a manor and later a chapelry in what is now London, England. It largely corresponds to the area around New Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham. The ancient parish of Deptford straddled the counties of Surrey and Kent and ther ...
. He dropped out of Aske's when he was 14 years old and started working at an advertising agency. Meanwhile, he followed evening courses in art at
Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a Member institutions of the University of London, constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The G ...
and
Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...
. Bradshaw had his first drawing published in ''
The Boy's Own Paper ''The Boy's Own Paper'' was a British story paper aimed at young and teenager, teenage boys, published from 1879 to 1967. Publishing history The idea for the publication was first raised in 1878 by the Religious Tract Society, as a means to enc ...
'' when he was 15 years old, and moved to the art department of the advertising agency. Three years later he became a full-time cartoonist, with his work also appearing in magazines like '' Bystander (magazine)'', ''Home Chat'', ''Sunday Companion'', ''
Tatler ''Tatler'' (stylised in all caps) is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. It focuses on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper and upper-middle c ...
'', ''
The Sketch ''The Sketch'' was a British illustrated weekly journal. It ran for 2,989 issues between 1 February 1893 and 17 June 1959. It was published by the Illustrated London News, Illustrated London News Company and was primarily a society magazine wit ...
'' and '' The Windsor Magazine''. He also worked for a while for the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
''. Bradshaw so closely resembled the Prime Minister, Asquith, that people would doff their hats to him when he went for walks in the park. Bradshaw married Mabel Alice Bennett (6 January 188117 February 1966) , the daughter of the late Edmund Hellyer Bennett (1841–1883) and Mary Anne Gardner (1841–1904), at St Peter's Church in
Brockley Brockley is a district and an wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward of south London, England, in the London Borough of Lewisham south-east of Charing Cross. It has been named the best area of London to live in. It is an area rich in Vi ...
,
Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...
on 27 July 1910. The wedding was choral, and 160 guests attended the reception at St. Peter's Hall. Among the wedding gifts was a grand piano (from the bride's sister). The couple left for a honeymoon in Switzerland. By 1911 the census shows the newly-weds living at 37 Dacres Road,
Forest Hill, London Forest Hill is a district of the London Borough of Lewisham in south London, south east London, England, on the South Circular Road, London, South Circular Road, which is home to the Horniman Museum. History Like much of Greater London, Fo ...
, where they were to remain their entire lives. The couple had one child, Denise M.


The Press Art School

He also wrote articles on drawing, appearing in the '' Daily Graphic'' and in ''The Boy's Own Paper'', where his series ''Black and White Drawing as a Profession'' was so successful that he decided to create his own art correspondence course, the Press Art School, in 1905. He remained principal of the school for more than 50 years, first from his home, later from Tudor Hall in
Forest Hill, London Forest Hill is a district of the London Borough of Lewisham in south London, south east London, England, on the South Circular Road, London, South Circular Road, which is home to the Horniman Museum. History Like much of Greater London, Fo ...
. The school was quite well regarded. Not the least of the advantages that Bradshaw's school offered was that Bradshaw not only offered training, but also introduced the work of his pupils to those editors he considered most likely to use of the sketches. Thus Bradshaw helped Leo Cheyney to sell drawings to ''The Boys' Own Paper'', '' Bystander'' and other publications. Bradshaw though that the outbreak of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
doomed his school, but clever advertising turned the War to his advantage, swelling the ranks of his students. He enrolled over 1,100 new pupils by the end of 1914, over 1,500 in 1915, and averaged over 3,000 enrollments a year for the 1916–1918. By 1918 he had 22 full-time assistants and the GPO needed a special van to deliver his mail. Bradshaw once remarked that ''The only difficulty I had was keeping going between wars.''


Later life

During the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Bradshaw was a special constable; during the second, he worked as a firewatcher. After the first war, he created hundreds of illustrated postcards for specialized companies like
Raphael Tuck & Sons Raphael Tuck & Sons was a business started by Raphael Tuck and his wife in Bishopsgate in the City of London in October 1866, selling pictures and greeting cards, and eventually selling postcards, which was their most successful line. Their busi ...
, worked again for an advertising agency, and for Sun Engravings from
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
. During the Second World War, he wrote articles about cartoonists for the '' London Opinion'', and published humorous poetry. Bradshaw was a member of the London Sketch Club and in 1958 wrote the history of the Savage Club where he was a committee member. He died in on 13 October 1965 at Hither Green Hospital,
Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...
in London. His estate was valued at £25,000. Mabel Alice survived him by less than six months, dying at Levisham Hospital, London on 17 February 1966. Her estate was valued at £26,543.


''The Art of the Illustrator''

''The Art of the Illustrator'' was probably Bradshaw's most important work. It consisted of a series of portfolios based on twenty leading illustrators. Bradshaw commissioned each of them for a special illustration. Each artist was free to choose the subject, so long as the illustration was representative of the artist's normal technique and that five preliminary stages in its composition should be shown. It is not absolutely clear when the portfolios were published. The
Jisc Jisc is a United Kingdom not-for-profit organisation that provides network and IT services and digital resources in support of further and higher education and research, as well as the public sector. Its head office is based in Bristol with ...
catalogue shows them being issued from 1900 to 1920. However, notices from the press show them as ''just issued'' in June 1917.. ''The Graphic'' noted that twelve of the portfolios had already been published by mid-June 1917. Therefore, the dates should probably be 1917–1918. Some of the illustrations are dated 1915 and one may even be dated 1914. This makes sense as some illustrators were bound to take longer to complete their commissions and it took Bradshaw, who was dealing with a huge surge in enrolments, time to write the descriptions. The portfolios were not cheap, for what they were: a set of six plates and less than thirty pages of text. A review in '' The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors'' in August 1918 gives the cost of the set of twenty portfolios as £7. 7s. (seven guineas) or £8. 8s. (eight guineas) if purchased in monthly instalments. A single portfolio on its own cost 10s 6d. (half a guinea). Each of the twenty portfolios dealt with the personality and working methods of a leading illustrator with: # a biography of the illustrator # an illustration or photograph of the illustrator at work in their studio # an explanation by the illustrator describing what they have done in each stage of the preparation of the illustration # a plate showing an illustration typical of their work # five other plates showing the work at five earlier stages of its production, from the first pencil rough to the just before the finished drawing or colour sketch. Six of the illustrators worked in watercolour, five in pen and ink, two in wash-painting, and one in body-colour. The subjects of the portfolios, and they were: * Henry Mayo Bateman (1887–1970) * Charles Edmund Brock (1870–1938) *
Cyrus Cuneo Cyrus Cincinato Cuneo (18 June 187923 July 1916), known as Ciro, was an American-born English visual artist, best known for painting. Early life He was born into an Italian American family of artists and musicians. His parents were Giovanni ...
(1879–1916) * William Russell Flint (1880–1969) * Dudley Hardy (1867–1922) * William Hatherell (1855–1928) * Fortunino Matania (1881–1963) *J. Bernard Partridge (1861–1945) * Gerald Spencer Pryse (1882–1956) * Warwick Reynolds {1880–1926) * Frank Reynolds (artist) (1876–1953) * W. Heath Robinson (1872–1944) * Harry Rountree (1878–1950)Harry Rountree: Harry Rountree and His Work: The Art of the Illustrator (Limited Edition Prints) * Claude Allin Shepperson (1867–1921) * E. J. Sullivan (1869–1933) * Balliol Salmon (1868–1953) * Bert Thomas (1883–1966) * Frederick Henry Townsend (1868–1920) * Louise Wright (illustrator) (active: London 1910) * Lawson Wood (1878–1957)


Other books by Bradshaw

As with ''The Art of the Illustrator'' most of Bradshaw's other writing was either didactic, helping art students to learn new techniques and so on, or biographic, such as his ''Nice People to Know'' or the history of the Savage Club. {, class="wikitable sortable" , +Books and similar publications by Bradshaw ! No.!! Year !! Title !! Other authors/Illustrators !! Publisher !! Pages !! Notes , - , 1 , , 1913 , , Art training by nature's methods: preparatory course of instruction , , , , Press Art School, London , , 24 p., ill., 29 cm , , , - , 2 , , 1919 , , Advanced Course of Instruction , , , , Press Art School, London , , , , , - , 3 , , 1925 , , Art in advertising: a study of British and American pictorial publicity , , , , Press Art School, London , , xvi, 496 p., ill. (part col.), 32 x 25 cm. , , , - , 4 , , 1929 , , Water Colour Painting , , , , Press Art School, London , , 6 parts, (4º) , , , - , 5 , , 1936 , , Fashion Drawing & Designing. y various authors., , Julia Cairns, Grace Cox Ife, Florence E. Ricketts , , Press Art School, London , , 6 parts, (4º) , , , - , 6 , , 1941 , , I wish I could draw: a system of art teaching by natural methods , , , , The Studio, London , , 96 p : ill. (part mounted) diagrs, 26 cm. , , , - , 7 , , 1942 , , They make us smile , , , , Chapman & Hall ltd, London , , 112 p : ill, 19 cm. , , , - , 8 , , 1943 , , Marching On , , Bert Thomas , , W. H. Allen & Co, London , , 127 p., (8º) , , , - , 9 , , 1943 , , Drawn from memory: adventures in the arts , , , , Chapman & Hall, London , , vii, 255, 1 p., 24 pl., ill., 22 cm. , , , - , 10 , , 1944 , , Nice People to know. , , , , Chapman & Hall, London , , xi, 201 p., (8º) , , , - , 11 , , 1945 , , I Wish I Could Paint , , Ernest W. Haslehust , , The Studio, London , , 96 p., (4º) , , , - , 12 , , 1946 , , Line of Laughter , , , , W. H. Allen & Co, London , , 140 p., (8º) , , , - , 13 , , 1946 , , Seen in perspective, 1895–1945: a panorama of fifty years , , , , Chapman & Hall ltd, London , , 219 p., ill., 23 cm. , , , - , 14 , , 1949 , , The magic of line: a study of drawing through the ages , , , , Studio Publications, London , , 112 p., ill., 26 cm. , , , - , 15 , , 1949 , , Come Sketching , , Sir Frank Brangwyn, Sir W. Russell Flint, Sydney R. Jones, Francis Marshall, Bertram Nichols, Fred Taylor, Charles Tunnicliffe, and Norman Wilkinson , , Studio Publications, London , , 96 p., (4º) , , , - , 16 , , 1952 , , Water-colour: a truly English art , , , , Studio Publications, London , , 127 p., ill., 30 cm. , , , - , 17 , , 1956 , , Sketching & Painting indoors. ith illustrations., , Rowland Hilder , , Studio Publications, London , , 96 p., (8º) , , , - , 18 , , 1958 , , Brother savages and guests': a history of the Savage Club 1857-1957 , , , , W.H. Allen, London , , xiii, 162 p., 10 pl., 26 cm. , ,


Faculty

Faculty (consulting staff) of the Press Art School included * Fred Pegram * W. Heath Robinson * Harry Rountree * Bert Thomas


Alumni

Students of the Press Art School included *Barry Ernest Appleby (1909–96) * Honor C. Appleton * Mary Baker * Albert Edgar Beard * Molly Brett *Luis Chan (1904-1995) * Leo Cheney * Alan D'Egville * Phiny Dick * Fougasse Pseudonym for Cyril Kenneth Bird (1887–1965) * D. L. Ghilchik * Charles Grave *Joseph Booth Lee (1901–1974) * Kin Maung * Norman Pett * Bertram Prance * William Ridgewell *
Ralph Steadman Ralph Idris Steadman (born 15 May 1936) is a British illustrator and collaborator with the American writer Hunter S. Thompson. Steadman draws satirical political cartoons, social caricatures, and picture books. Early life Steadman was born in ...


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradshaw, Percy 1877 births 1965 deaths British illustrators