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 ''

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 S ...

'' and for his caricatures of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

Biography

Kemble was born in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

. In 1875, he was enrolled at a boarding school in Philadelphia, which was a center of artistic activity. His artistic talent was such that he was a successful contributor to periodicals by 1881. He became the major political cartoonist for the New York ''

Daily Graphic ''The Daily Graphic: An Illustrated Evening Newspaper'' was the first American newspaper with daily illustrations. It was founded in New York City in 1873 by Canadian engravers George-Édouard Desbarats and William Leggo, and began publication ...

'' while receiving his only formal artistic training at the Art Students League of New York. When ''Life'' magazine was founded in 1883, Kemble became a frequent contributor to its early issues. He was a staff political cartoonist for '' Collier's'' from 1903 to 1907, for ''

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, ...

'' from 1907 to 1912 before returning to Collier's, and for ''

Leslie's Weekly ''Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper'', later renamed ''Leslie's Weekly'', was an American illustrated literary and news magazine founded in 1855 and published until 1922. It was one of several magazines started by publisher and illustrator Frank ...

'' and '' Judge'' in the late 1910s. His lively cartoons, some of the magazine industry's most mature work, attracted the attention of Mark Twain, who employed Kemble to illustrate ''

''. Kemble subsequently illustrated several other famous books, including Twain's '' Puddin' Head Wilson'', Harriet Beecher Stowe's ''

Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U ...

'',

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

's ''Knickerbocker History of New York'', and many of

Joel Chandler Harris Joel Chandler Harris (December 9, 1848 – July 3, 1908) was an American journalist, fiction writer, and folklorist best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories. Born in Eatonton, Georgia, where he served as an apprentice on a planta ...

' ''

Uncle Remus Uncle Remus is the fictional title character and narrator of a collection of African American folktales compiled and adapted by Joel Chandler Harris and published in book form in 1881. Harris was a journalist in post-Reconstruction era Atlanta, a ...

'' stories. Kemble illustrated three books authored by Eldred Kurtz Means. Kemble lived in the Rochelle Park area of suburban

New Rochelle New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state o ...

.''Westchester, The American Suburb'', Roger Panetta (2006); page 186
/ref> He died in

Ridgefield, Connecticut Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old community had a population of 25,033 at the 2020 census. The town center, which was formerly a borough ...

, in 1933, aged 72.

References

Sources

* Horn, Maurice, ed. ''The World Encyclopedia of Cartoons''. 2d ed. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999. *Reed, Walt. The Illustrator in America, 1860–2000. New York: The Society of Illustrators, 2001. *Samuels, Peggy, and Harold Samuels. Samuels' Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West. Secaucus, N.J.: Castle, 1985.

External links

* *
Comic Creator: E. W. Kemble
via lambiek.net * Kemble, E.W. (February 1930)

''

The Colophon, A Book Collectors' Quarterly ''The Colophon'', subtitled ''A Book Collectors' Quarterly'' or ''A quarterly for booklovers,'' was a limited edition quarterly periodical begun late in 1929 and continuing in various guises until 1950. It was the brainchild of Elmer Adler (1884� ...

'' (via University of Virginia)
Kemble's Illustrations for ''Huck Finn''
(via University of Virginia) * (mainly as "E. W. Kemble")
Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

Letters to Ellis D. Robb, 1931
1861 births 1933 deaths American cartoonists Artists from New Rochelle, New York Artists from Sacramento, California Art Students League of New York alumni {{US-cartoonist-stub