RANDOLPH CALDECOTT.

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Randolph
Caldecott:

A Personal Memoir
OF HIS EARLY ART CAREER.

BY
HENRY BLACKBURN,

EDITOR OF "ACADEMY NOTES," ETC.; AUTHOR OF "BRETON FOLK,"
"ARTISTS AND ARABS," ETC.


WITH
ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-TWO ILLUSTRATIONS


NEW YORK: GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS,
9, LAFAYETTE PLACE.
LONDON:
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON,
CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET.
1886.

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In Affectionate Remembrance.

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PREFACE.

The object of this memoir is to give some information as to the early work of Randolph Caldecott, an artist who is known to the world chiefly by his Picture Books.

The extracts from letters have a personal charm apart from any literary merit. The majority of the letters, and the sketches which accompanied them, were sent to the author's family; others have been kindly lent for this memoir by Mr. William Clough, Mr. Locker-Lampson, Mr. Whittenbury, and other friends. Acknowledgments are also due to the publishers who have lent engravings.

At the desire of Mr. Caldecott's representatives,—to whom the author is indebted for extracts from diaries and other material—the consideration of his later work is reserved for a future time.

Although the text of this book is little more than a setting for the illustrations, it is hoped that the material collected may be found interesting.

H. B.

103, Victoria Street, Westminster,
September 1886.

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CONTENTS.

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

The unpublished illustrations are marked with an asterisk *

Bank" 1 *First Clerk—Second Do. 2 *Coom, then 3 *Three Friends 4 *Going to the Dogs 5 *A Sketch in Court 7 *Full Cry 8 *In the Hunting Field 9 *Street Sketch—Policeman, etc. 10 *Society in Manchester 11 *A New Contributor (London Society) 13 Education under Difficulties 14 Ye monthe of Aprile 15 Sketch in Hyde Park 16 The Chancellor of the Exchequer 17 *The Trombone 18 The Two Trombones 19 Christmas Day, 4.30 A.M. 20 Clinching an Argument 21 Snowballs 22 Heigh-ho, the Holly! 23 Going to Cover 25 Hyde Park—Out of the Season 26 Coming of Age of the Pride of the Family 27 *The end of all things 28 *Sketch on a Post Card 29 First Drawing in "Punch," 22nd June, 1872 31 *A cool sequestered Spot 32 A Tour in the Toy Country (Harz Mountains) 33 A Mountain Beer Garden 34 A Fraulein 35

class="smcap">A Mountain Path 35 A Warrior of Sedan in a Beer Garden at Goslar, 1872 36 The Ark of Refuge 37 *The Dance of Witches 38 Spectres of the Brocken 39 A Sketch at Supper 40 Back to the View 40 The Guide at Goslar 41 Procession of the Sick 42 Drinking the Waters at Goslar 43 A General in the Prussian Army 44 *A School on the March—Harz Mountains, 1872 45 Sketch—Harz Mountains, 1872 46 Sketch—Harz Mountains, 1872 48 At Clausthal 49 *Sketch 50 Sketch in "Punch," 8th March, 1873 51 A Check 53 Sketch (Published in Pall Mall Gazette) 55 Looking out for the "Graphic" Balloon 57 Off to the Exhibition—Vienna, 1873 59 *A Viennese Dog 60 Sketch (Published in Pall Mall Gazette) 62 *Early Decorative Design 64 This is not a First-class Cow 66 *Studies for a large Decorative Design, 1874 67 The Polling Booth (Pictorial World) 70 *Home Rule—March 1874 71 On the Stump 72 The Scotch Elections—Going to the Hustings 73 Pairing Time

href="@public@vhost@g@gutenberg@html@files@41086@[email protected]#pairing_time" class="pginternal" tag="{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}a">74 Coursing 75 Her First Valentine 76 A Valentine 76 Somebody's Coming! 77 I wonder who sent me these Flowers 78 The young Hamlet 79 House of Commons, March 1874—Arrival of New Members 80 The Speaker going up to the Lords 81 At the Bar of the House of Lords 82 The New Prime Minister 83 The Tichborne Trial—Breaking-up Day 84 The Morning Walk 86 *Decorative Painting for a Dining-room 89 *The Cottage, Farnham Royal 90 *Sketch from The Cottage, Farnham Royal 91 *Bringing Home the Sultanas 92 *The Paddock, Farnham Royal 93 *Studying from Nature 95 Sketch (Published in Pall Mall Gazette) 96 Sketch (Published in Pall Mall Gazette) 97 *Drawing from Familiar Objects 98 *Could not Draw a Lady! 99 Headpiece (Old Christmas) 100 The Stage Coachman 103 In the Stable Yard 104 The Troubadour 106 The Fair Julia 107 Master Simon and his Dogs 109 On the Road Side, Brittany 111 *At Guingamp, Brittany

href="@public@vhost@g@gutenberg@html@files@41086@[email protected]#guingamp_brittany" class="pginternal" tag="{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}a">113 *To M. H.—Christmas, 1874 114 *Facsimile of Letter 116 *St. Valentine's Day 117 *At Farnham Royal 118 *Sunrise 119 *Diagram. Study in Line 120 *Diagram. Study in Line 120 *Diagram. Design for a Picture, 1875 121 *Diagram. A Mad Dog 122 *Diagram. The Lecturer 123 Diagram. Child 124 Diagram. Mad Dog 125 *Sketch 127 *Shows his Terra Cottas 129 *The First Year of Academy Notes 130 *Three Pelicans and Tortoise 131 *Inspecting Embroideries 132 *Freshwater, Isle of Wight 132 *A Christmas Card to K. E. B. 133 Opinions of the Press (Manchester Quarterly) 134 There were Three Ravens sat on a Tree 135 *Private view of my First R.A. Picture 136 *A Horse Fair in Brittany 137 Captain Burton 139 Preface 1 Bracebridge Hall 140 Preface 2 Bracebridge Hall 140 The Chivalry of the Hall prepared to take the Field 141 The Fair Julia and her Lover 143 General Harbottle at Dinner 144 An Extinguisher

href="@public@vhost@g@gutenberg@html@files@41086@[email protected]#extinguisher" class="pginternal" tag="{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}a">145 *At Whitchurch 146 At Buxton 147 *A Christmas Card 148 Gaming Tables at Monte Carlo (Graphic) 151 Priest and Player (Graphic) 153 The Priest's Servant (North Italian Folk) 155 The Husbandman 157 Gossip 158 Dignity and Impudence (National Gallery) 160 Spaniels, King Charles's Breed 160 Portrait of a Lawyer by Moroni 161 *Waiting for a Boat 163 *Tailpiece 164 *Cleopatra 165 The Three Huntsmen (L'Art) 167 A Boar Hunt (Grosvenor Notes) 168 The Trap (Breton Folk) 170 Sketching under Difficulties 171 Breton Farmer and Cattle 172 A Wayside Cross 173 At the Horse Fair, Le Folgoet 174 Trotting out Horses at Carhaix 175 Cattle Fair at Carhaix 176 A Typical Breton 177 A Bretonne 178 *Sketch 179 A Cap of Finisterre 180 Returning from Labour—Pont Aven, 1878 181 A Breton 183 *A Family Horse

tag="{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}a">184 *Sketch in Woburn Park 185 *A Carnation 186 *Hotel Gray et d'Albion, Cannes 189 *At Mentone 190 *Sketch 191 Sketch 192 Not such Disagreeable Weather after all—some People Think (from Punch) 193 *A Pig of Brittany 194 *A Bookplate 195 *Sketch 196 *Sketch 197 *Facsimile of Letter 199 Sketch 200 Sketch of Wybournes 201 *A New Year's Greeting 203 APPENDIX. *Headpiece. Caldecott's Picture Books 212 Æsop's Fables 214 A Sketch Book 215 Breton Folk 216