William James Affleck Shepherd (1866–1946) was an English illustrator and cartoonist, known mainly for anthropomorphic animal drawings. He rarely used his first forename – most of his works are simply signed "J.A.S." JASNights

Life

Shepherd, the son of a cigar importer, was born on 29 November 1866 in

Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by London V ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and died in

Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

in 1946. Shepherd did not receive any formal art training. For three years he worked under the direction of Alfred Bryan on the ''Moonshine'' satirical magazine. In 1893 he joined the staff of ''Punch''. He also worked for ''The Strand'' magazine, the ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...

'' and other periodicals. He was a fellow of the Zoological Society and enjoyed the outdoor life. He underlined the importance of animals to him in a remark: "There are only two things I love in my life – my mother and my raven." This was before his marriage in 1897. Shepherd was the maternal grandfather of

David Sheppard David Stuart Sheppard, Baron Sheppard of Liverpool (6 March 1929 – 5 March 2005) was a Church of England Bishop of Liverpool who played cricket for Sussex and England in his youth. Sheppard remains the only ordained minister to have played T ...

(6 March 1929 – 5 March 2005), Bishop of Liverpool and a Test cricketer.

Publications

in 1897 Shepherd produced the children's picture book "Zig Zag Fables", which the Disney animator

Andreas Deja Andreas Deja is a Polish-born German-American character animator, most noted for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Deja's work includes serving as supervising animator on characters in several Disney animated films, including the Disney ...

has cited as an influence. In 1926 "A Frolic around the Zoo" appeared, featuring the adventures of Blinx, a stray cat, and Bunda, an escaped monkey. He illustrated many books and was a contributor to ''The Rosebud'' annuals, which were renowned for their illustrations by

Louis Wain Louis William Wain (5 August 1860 – 4 July 1939) was an English artist best known for his drawings, which consistently featured anthropomorphized large-eyed cats and kittens. Later in life, he was confined to mental institutions and struggle ...

References

External links

Cartoon Museum articlePublications by J. A. ShepherdWork held by the Victoria and Albert Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, William James Affleck English cartoonists Punch (magazine) cartoonists 1866 births 1946 deaths