| Abstract: |
British painter illustrator Gordon Frederick Browne was born at Banstead, Surrey
in 1858. Beginning in the 1880s Gordon Browne was one of Great Britain's most prolific
illustrators, contributing regularly to many newspapers and magazines, as well as illustrating
editions of books written by Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, Washington Irving, and Robert Louis
Stevenson, eight volumes of works by William Shakespeares, an edition of Grimm's Fairy
Tales, and his own Gordon Browne's Series of Old Fairy Tale. This
collection of letters to Gordon Browne consists of eighty-three letters written, seventy-seven
of which are addressed to this renowned British illustrator. Many of the letters were written
by authors expressing gratitude for illustrations which Browne created for their books or
stories. Occasionally authors wrote to suggest ideas for a future illustration or to request
that Browne illustrate a particular book or story. Other letters include requests from
authors, collectors, or friends to purchase original drawings or paintings, or thank-you notes
for Browne's generosity with his drawings or paintings. Of the letters addressed to Browne,
many reflect the respect given to Browne and his illustrations by his contemporaries. They
also indicate the demand for his work in the late eighteenth and early twentieth centuries,
and Browne's generosity in sharing it.
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