Thomas Henry (illustrator) facts for kids
Thomas Henry (born Thomas Henry Fisher) (1879–1962) was an English illustrator. He is most famous for drawing the pictures in Richmal Crompton's popular William books.
About Thomas Henry
Thomas Henry Fisher was born in 1879 in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire. He was the oldest of three brothers. When he was just 14, he started working as an apprentice for a newspaper company in Nottingham. This company was called T. Bailey Forman.
Even while working, he also went to the Nottingham School of Art. He created many paintings and sketches in his free time. His employers often used these for things like wall calendars.
His first published drawings were probably cartoons for the Nottingham Football Post in 1904. At the same time, he started working for himself, using the name Thomas Henry. He mostly used pastels and watercolour paints back then.
Thomas Henry also worked with the advertising team at John Player & Sons, a cigarette company. People say he helped update the famous sailor's head picture on their cigarette packets.
In 1906, he married Gertrude Ellen Mensing and they lived in Plumtree, Nottinghamshire. Their daughter, Marjorie, was born in 1911.
Thomas Henry quickly became a well-known illustrator. By 1913, his cartoons appeared regularly in top magazines like Punch. By 1920, he was a successful illustrator. His work was published in popular magazines like the Strand Magazine and London Mail.
In 1919, Henry created the look of Richmal Crompton's William for magazines. He then illustrated the very first William book, Just William, which came out in 1922. He went on to illustrate 33 William books in total.
He also drew pictures for other children's books. One example is Our Elizabeth Again by Florence A. Kilpatrick. He was also the first artist to illustrate Evadne Price's Jane stories. These stories appeared in The Novel magazine from 1927 to 1937. He illustrated the first three collections of Jane stories. For these, he used the name "Marriott." This was because Evadne Price did not want the Jane stories to be linked to the William stories.
Thomas Henry drew many covers and illustrations for children's magazines. These included The Happy Mag, The Crusoe Mag, The Sunny Mag, and Tit Bits Summer Annual. He also contributed often to children's annuals. Some of these were Blackie's Boys Annual and The Boys' Budget.
His first wife, Gertrude, passed away in 1932. A few years later, he married Anne Bailey. They later moved to Old Dalby, Leicestershire.
He also became a successful artist for seaside postcards. He started making these postcards in 1913 and continued into the 1950s. He created a special series of postcards to help raise money for the National Institute for the Blind. These cards showed visually impaired people in touching situations. He also made other sets of postcards, including one with William and his friends. Another set showed two made-up children named Jane and Herbert.
Thomas Henry passed away in 1962. He had not finished the illustrations for the William book William and the Witch. He was inspired by the work of Cecil Aldin. One of Thomas Henry's paintings was also shown at the Royal Academy.
William Illustrations
Thomas Henry first created the look of William Brown in 1919 for the Home Magazine. He did not base William on a real child. Instead, he used the author's descriptions and his own imagination.
This was the start of a long partnership between Thomas Henry and the author, Richmal Crompton. It lasted for 43 years until his death. He illustrated William stories in the Home Magazine (1919–1922) and in the Happy Mag (from 1922 onwards). He drew and painted covers for 33 William books for the publisher Newnes.
He also made many William cartoon strips for magazines. From 1947 to 1962, he drew about 800 cartoons for Woman's Own magazine. Each cartoon had three frames per story. The illustrations for the magazines were done in a traditional hatch style.
It might surprise you, but Thomas Henry only met Richmal Crompton face-to-face once. This happened at a book festival lunch in Nottingham. Their meeting created some news, which made him a bit shy. However, Thomas Henry always made his cartoons with Richmal Crompton's approval. He would ask her if a story idea from the publisher did not seem right for William Brown's character.
William Brown never grew older in the stories. Because of this, William's look changed very little over 43 years. However, William's original clothes, like his waistcoat and stiff collar, were later changed by Henry to a more modern style.
When Thomas Henry died, he had only finished some of the drawings for the 34th book, William and the Witch. So, some illustrations in this book are by Thomas Henry, and the rest are by the next illustrator, Henry Ford.
William Merchandise
Thomas Henry helped create many items to promote the William Brown character. These included two William jigsaw puzzles and one William card game. He also made a William magic painting book and a set of William postcards. These items were very popular.
