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Truman W. "True" Williams (March 22, 1839 – November 23, 1897) was an American artist known as the most prolific illustrator to
Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...
's books and novels. He illustrated the first edition of ''
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (also simply known as ''Tom Sawyer'') is a novel by Mark Twain published on June 9, 1876, about a boy, Tom Sawyer, growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1830s-1840s in the town of St. Petersbu ...
'' (1876) and was thus the first to visually portray such characters as
Tom Sawyer Thomas "Tom" Sawyer () is the title character of the Mark Twain novel '' The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876). He appears in three other novels by Twain: '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884), '' Tom Sawyer Abroad'' (1894), and '' Tom Sawy ...
and
Huckleberry Finn Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain who first appeared in the book ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876) and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884). He is 12 ...
. He was also sole illustrator of Twain's '' Sketches, New and Old'' and primary illustrator of ''
Roughing It ''Roughing It'' is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature by Mark Twain. It was written in 1870–71 and published in 1872, following his first travel book '' The Innocents Abroad'' (1869). ''Roughing It'' is dedicated to Twain's m ...
'' and '' The Innocents Abroad''. Working with a number of publishers he also illustrated works by writers
Bill Nye William Sanford Nye (; born November 27, 1955) is an American science communicator, television presenter, and former mechanical engineer. He is best known as the host of the science education television show '' Bill Nye the Science Guy'' (1 ...
, George W. Peck,
Joaquin Miller Cincinnatus Heine Miller ( ; September 8, 1837 – February 17, 1913), better known by his pen name Joaquin Miller ( ), was an American poet, author, and frontiersman. He became known as the "Poet of the Sierras" after the Sierra Nevada, about wh ...
, and others. He was also a notorious drunk, which slowed his work and made him unreliable.


Early life and career

Truman W. Williams (his full middle name is unknown) was born on March 22, 1839, in
Allegany County, New York Allegany County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,456. Its county seat is Belmont. Its name derives from a Lenape word, applied by European-American settlers of Western New York State to ...
, to parents Asa and Louisa Keelar Williams. Williams grew up in Watertown. Williams was a self-taught illustrator, and his talent appeared at a young age. One of his earliest published works appeared in ''
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 ...
'' in April 1862, illustrating Confederate prisoners of the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. Williams later enlisted in a volunteer
infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
unit in Illinois, serving from December 21, 1863, to October 9, 1865, during which he worked under General
William T. Sherman William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...
as a topographical engineer. Williams was uninjured in service but later claimed a lifelong battle with painful
varicose veins Varicose veins, also known as varicoses, are a medical condition in which superficial veins become enlarged and twisted. Although usually just a cosmetic ailment, in some cases they cause fatigue, pain, itch, itching, and cramp, nighttime leg cram ...
in his legs from "severe marching and hard service." He began illustrating professionally in the 1860s: two of his illustrations appeared in an 1869 edition of Albert Deane Richardson's book ''Beyond the Mississippi'', published by the American Publishing Company of
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
. By 1870 was back in New York, when his work began appearing in the magazine '' Harper's Bazar'' and other New York publishers.


Illustrating Twain

"Williams was a man of great talent—of fine imagination and sweetness of spirit—but it was necessary to lock him in a room when industry was required, with nothing more exciting than cold water as a beverage." -
Albert Bigelow Paine Albert Bigelow Paine (July 10, 1861 – April 9, 1937) was an American author and biographer best known for his work with Mark Twain. Paine was a member of the Pulitzer Prize Committee and wrote in several genres, including fiction, humor, and ...
Williams' first work for Twain was '' The Innocents Abroad'', of which he contributed the majority of illustrations. Biographer
Albert Bigelow Paine Albert Bigelow Paine (July 10, 1861 – April 9, 1937) was an American author and biographer best known for his work with Mark Twain. Paine was a member of the Pulitzer Prize Committee and wrote in several genres, including fiction, humor, and ...
calls ''Innocents'' "Twain's greatest book of travel", and writes: "we may believe that Williams was not a great draftsman, but no artist ever caught more perfectly the light and spirit of the author's text." Literary critic Michael Patrick Hearn describes Williams as "an indifferent draftsman, his pictures varying from coarse to the highly sentimental". Regarding his work in ''Tom Sawyer'', Warren Chappell writes "it is evident that Williams did not always take care in reading the text. As the first man to do the whitewashing scene, he carelessly used a rail fence instead of the board fence which is described." Williams was also known to incorporate subtle humor into his illustrations for ''Tom Sawyer'': he placed his own name on a gravestone in one scene, and in another it has been suggested he deliberately altered the lettering on a sign reading "The pen is mightier than the sword" to appear "the penis mightier than the sword", a pun which Twain himself used many years later. William's style in ''Tom Sawyer'' influenced
E. W. Kemble Edward Winsor Kemble (January 18, 1861 – September 19, 1933), usually cited as E. W. Kemble, and sometimes referred to incorrectly as Edward Windsor Kemble, was an American illustrator. He is known best for illustrating the first edition of '' ...
's work in his illustrations to ''
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' is a picaresque novel by American author Mark Twain that was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, th ...
'' (1884).


Other work

In addition to his work with Twain, he illustrated an autobiography of
P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding with James Anthony Bailey the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was ...
and works by the likes of humorists
George Wilbur Peck George Wilbur Peck (September 28, 1840 – April 16, 1916) was an American writer and politician from Wisconsin. He served as the 17th governor of Wisconsin and the 29th List of mayors of Milwaukee, mayor of Milwaukee. Biography Peck was ...
and
Bill Nye William Sanford Nye (; born November 27, 1955) is an American science communicator, television presenter, and former mechanical engineer. He is best known as the host of the science education television show '' Bill Nye the Science Guy'' (1 ...
, and his work appeared in ''
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 ''
Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...
''. He wrote one book of his own, an adventure novel called ''Frank Fairweather's Fortunes'', and edited a book of poems called ''Under the Open Sky''. Both were released in 1890, and illustrated exclusively by Williams.


Personal life and death

Williams married Carrie M. Heath April 19, 1884. She died on July 25, 1885, from tuberculosis and premature childbirth, and their premature son died shortly after. On July 27, 1886 Williams married Rose Heath, the younger sister of Carrie. They divorced in 1892 due to True's alcoholism, which included being drunk for a week or more. He died in
Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, from internal bleeding due to an
aortic aneurysm An aortic aneurysm is an enlargement (dilatation) of the aorta to greater than 1.5 times normal size. Typically, there are no symptoms except when the aneurysm dissects or ruptures, which causes sudden, severe pain in the abdomen and lower back ...
on November 23, 1897, at the age of 58.


Works

Williams' work appears in six works by Mark Twain: *'' The Innocents Abroad'' (1869) *''
Roughing It ''Roughing It'' is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature by Mark Twain. It was written in 1870–71 and published in 1872, following his first travel book '' The Innocents Abroad'' (1869). ''Roughing It'' is dedicated to Twain's m ...
'' (1872) *'' The Gilded Age'' (1873) *'' Sketches New and Old'' (1875) *''
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (also simply known as ''Tom Sawyer'') is a novel by Mark Twain published on June 9, 1876, about a boy, Tom Sawyer, growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1830s-1840s in the town of St. Petersbu ...
'' (1876) * ''
A Tramp Abroad ''A Tramp Abroad'' is a work of travel literature, including a mixture of autobiography and fictional events, by American author Mark Twain, published in 1880. The book details a journey by the author, with his friend Harris (a character created ...
'' (1880) Own works: *''Frank Fairweather's Fortunes'' (1890) Works by other authors in which Williams was sole or contributing artist include: *''Struggles and Triumphs'' (1869) by
P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding with James Anthony Bailey the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was ...
*''Unwritten History: Life Amongst the Modocs'' (1874) by
Joaquin Miller Cincinnatus Heine Miller ( ; September 8, 1837 – February 17, 1913), better known by his pen name Joaquin Miller ( ), was an American poet, author, and frontiersman. He became known as the "Poet of the Sierras" after the Sierra Nevada, about wh ...
*''Bill Nye's Chestnuts Old & New'' (1888) by
Bill Nye William Sanford Nye (; born November 27, 1955) is an American science communicator, television presenter, and former mechanical engineer. He is best known as the host of the science education television show '' Bill Nye the Science Guy'' (1 ...
*''Peck's Bad Boy and His Pa'' (1890), by George W. Peck


Notes


Sources

* * * * * * * *


External links


Chronology of True W. Williams' illustrations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, True 1839 births 1897 deaths People from Allegany County, New York American children's book illustrators 19th-century American artists Mark Twain