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 his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
's books and novels. He illustrated the first edition of ''
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' is an 1876 novel by Mark Twain about a boy growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1840s in the town of St. Petersburg, which is based on Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived as a boy. In the nov ...
'' (1876) and was thus the first to visually portray such characters as
Tom Sawyer
Thomas Sawyer () is the titular 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 Sawyer, Dete ...
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, as a prequel to his first travel book ''The Innocents Abroad'' (1869). ''Roughing It'' is dedicated to Twa ...
'' and ''
The Innocents Abroad
''The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims' Progress'' is a travel book by American author Mark Twain. Published in 1869, it humorously chronicles what Twain called his "Great Pleasure Excursion" on board the chartered vessel ''Quaker City'' ( ...
''. Working with a number of publishers he also illustrated works by writers
Bill Nye
William Sanford Nye (born November 27, 1955), popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American mechanical engineer, science communicator, and television presenter. He is best known as the host of the science television show ''Bill ...
,
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 is nicknamed the "Poet of the Sierras" after the Sierra Nevada, about which h ...
, and others. He was also a notorious drunk, which slowed his work and made him unreliable.
Early life and career
![Rebel Prisoners at Camp Douglas, Chicago, Illinois](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Rebel_Prisoners_at_Camp_Douglas%2C_Chicago%2C_Illinois.jpg)
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 (United States), county in the Southern Tier of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the population was 46,456. Its county seat is Belmont, New York, Belmont. ...
, to parents Asa and Louisa Keelar Williams. Williams grew up in
Watertown Watertown may refer to:
Places in China
In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways.
Places in the United States
*Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town
**Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...
. 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 & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor, ...
'' in April 1862, illustrating Confederate prisoners of the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same 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 ...
. Williams later enlisted in a volunteer
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
unit in Illinois, serving from December 21, 1863, to October 9, 1865, during which he worked under General
William T. Sherman
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
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. These veins typically develop in the legs, just under the skin. Varicose veins usually cause few symptoms. However, some indi ...
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
Albert Deane Richardson (October 6, 1833 – December 2, 1869) was a well-known American journalist, Union spy, and author. Among his works is his noted biography of Ulysses S. Grant. Richardson was shot on two occasions, the second time fatally, ...
's book ''Beyond the Mississippi'', published by the American Publishing Company of
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
. 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
![Tom Sawyer 1876 frontispiece](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Tom_Sawyer_1876_frontispiece.jpg)
"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, Pulitzer Prize Committee and wrote in several genres, including fictio ...
Williams' first work for Twain was ''
The Innocents Abroad
''The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims' Progress'' is a travel book by American author Mark Twain. Published in 1869, it humorously chronicles what Twain called his "Great Pleasure Excursion" on board the chartered vessel ''Quaker City'' ( ...
'', 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, Pulitzer Prize Committee and wrote in several genres, including fictio ...
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
Michael Patrick Hearn is an American literary scholar as well as a man of letters specializing in children's literature and its illustration. His works include ''The Annotated Wizard of Oz'' (1973/2000), '' The Annotated Christmas Carol'' (1977/20 ...
describes Williams as "an indifferent draftsman, his pictures varying from coarse to the highly sentimental". Regarding his work in ''Tom Sawyer'',
Warren Chappell
Warren Chappell (1904, Richmond, Virginia – March 26, 1991, Charlottesville, Virginia) was an American illustrator, book and type designer, and author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definiti ...
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'' or as it is known in more recent editions, ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', is a novel by American author Mark Twain, which was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United St ...
'' (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 the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. 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 9th Mayor of Milwaukee.
Biography
Peck was born in 1840 in Henderson, N ...
and
Bill Nye
William Sanford Nye (born November 27, 1955), popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American mechanical engineer, science communicator, and television presenter. He is best known as the host of the science television show ''Bill ...
, 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 & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor, ...
'' and ''
Harper's Bazaar
''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...
''. 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
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, 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. They usually cause no symptoms except when ruptured. Occasionally, there may be abdominal, back, or leg pain. The prevalence of abdominal aortic ...
on November 23, 1897, at the age of 58.
Works
![1880](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/1880._A_Tramp_Abroad_0028.jpg)
Williams' work appears in six works by Mark Twain:
*''
The Innocents Abroad
''The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims' Progress'' is a travel book by American author Mark Twain. Published in 1869, it humorously chronicles what Twain called his "Great Pleasure Excursion" on board the chartered vessel ''Quaker City'' ( ...
'' (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, as a prequel to his first travel book ''The Innocents Abroad'' (1869). ''Roughing It'' is dedicated to Twa ...
'' (1872)
*''
The Gilded Age'' (1873)
*''
Sketches New and Old'' (1875)
*''
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' is an 1876 novel by Mark Twain about a boy growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1840s in the town of St. Petersburg, which is based on Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived as a boy. In the nov ...
'' (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 f ...
'' (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 the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. 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 is nicknamed the "Poet of the Sierras" after the Sierra Nevada, about which h ...
*''Bill Nye's Chestnuts Old & New'' (1888) by
Bill Nye
William Sanford Nye (born November 27, 1955), popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American mechanical engineer, science communicator, and television presenter. He is best known as the host of the science television show ''Bill ...
*''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