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| W. Heath Robinson by C D Ward |
William Heath Robinson (1872 – 1944) was an
English illustrator and cartoonist, best known for his drawings of complicated
machines for achieving simple objectives. “Heath Robinson Contraption” is a
phrase that entered the language during WW1 in Britain, and later in the United
States. There are few artists whose name has passed into the language, but
Chambers’ Dictionary has the following:
Heath-Robinson:
adj used to describe an over-ingenious, ridiculously complicated or elaborate
mechanical contrivance.
William Heath Robinson was born into a
family of artists – his father Thomas Robinson and brothers Thomas Heath
Robinson and Charles Robinson were all successful illustrators. From 1887, he
studied at Islington Art School (London), for three years, before moving to the
Royal Academy.
William wrote and illustrated three highly
successful children’s books (The
Adventures of Uncle Lubin 1902, Bill
the Minder 1912, Peter Quip in Search
of a Friend 1933) as well as illustrating numerous others.
In the run up to WW1, Robinson became known
for a series of drawings in magazines such as The Sketch and The Tatler,
many of which I will be featuring in this comprehensive look at his work.
This is part 1 of a 20 – part series on the
works of W. Heath Robinson:
1897 Danish Fairy Tales and Legends (Andersen's Fairy Tales):
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| 1897 Danish Fairy Tales and Legends ( Andersen's Fairy Tales ) |
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| Frontispiece "The Dustman." |
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"Little Tuk"
pen and ink 40.6 x 8.2 cm |
1897 The Giant Crab And Other Tales from Old India:
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The Giant Crab and Other Tales
title page |
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| The Pious Wolf |
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| The Hypocritical Cat |
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| The Crocodile and the Monkey |
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| The Wise Parrot and the Foolish Parrot |
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| The Monkey and the Gardener |
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| The Grateful Beasts and the Ungrateful Prince |
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| The Cunning Crane and the Crab |
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| Union is Strength |
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| The Great Yellow King and his Porter |
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| The Bold Beggar |
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| The Goblin City |
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| The King's Lesson |
1897 The Life and Exploits of the Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote De La Mancha:
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| Cover |
1899 Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen (Thomas, Charles and William Robinson):
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| Front Cover |
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| Title page "The Mermaid" by Charles Heath Robinson |
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| Garden of Paradise by Thomas Heath Robinson |
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Great Claus and little Claus by W. Heath Robinson
"He turned and twisted, but it was impossible to undo the cord"
pen and ink 48.3 x 37.5 cm |
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Great Claus and little Claus by W. Heath Robinson
"They both made a hearty meal of the fish, the meat and the cake"
pen and ink 41.8 x 29.1 cm |
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| The Little Match Girl by W. Heath Robinson |
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| The Red Shoes by Charles Heath Robinson |
1899 The Talking Thrush (1922 edition):
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| Front Cover |
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| Title Page |
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Title Page
pen and ink and watercolour 31.1 x 21.6 cm |
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The Rabbit and the Monkey
pen and ink 29.1 x 43.2 cm |
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The Rabbit and the Monkey
pen and ink 33 x 24.1 cm |
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| A Crow is a Crow Forever |
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| The Frog and the Snake |
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| The Monkey's Rebuke |
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| The Swan and the Crow |
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| The Cat and the Parrot |
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The Merchant was Much Dismayed
pen and ink 36.8 x 17.8 cm |
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The Parrot in Court
pen and ink 24.8 x 7 cm |
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Up Jumped the Boy and Out he Ran
pen and ink and watercolour 23.5 x 15.9 cm |
1899 The Arabian Nights Entertainments:
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The Arabian Nights Entertainments
"Lifted the Stone with ease" from Aladdin
pen and ink 17.8 x 53 cm |
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