Ernest Prater (1864–1950) was a noted English artist and book illustrator, notable also for his work as a war correspondent and reportage artist during the

Anglo-Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

Life and works

Prater was born in Islington in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, of Cornish descent; his father was Joseph Prater of Crantock, Cornwall. He attended Dr. Devonshire's school in London, and began his working life as a publisher's clerk and took up drawing. His listing in ''Who's Who in Art'' for 1929 stated that his recreations included all rigorous sports. He served for a period with the 3rd

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

Artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

. He became a Boer War correspondent for ''The Sphere'', attached to General Buller's column, sending back illustrations from the battlefield. He also worked for the '' Black & White Budget'' and ''

The Graphic ''The Graphic'' was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company Illustrated Newspapers Ltd. Thomas's brother Lewis Samuel Thomas was a co-founder. The premature death of the latt ...

'' newspapers. As well as being an illustrator, he was an adept photographer. He contributed illustrations to the '' Strand Magazine'', ''

Pall Mall Gazette ''The Pall Mall Gazette'' was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood. In 1921, '' The Globe'' merged into ''The Pall Mall Gazette'', which itself was absorbed in ...

'' and ''

Boy's Own Paper ''The Boy's Own Paper'' was a British story paper aimed at young and teenage boys, published from 1879 to 1967. Publishing history The idea for the publication was first raised in 1878 by the Religious Tract Society, as a means to encourage you ...

'' and for books published by the

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) is a UK-based Christian charity. Founded in 1698 by Thomas Bray, it has worked for over 300 years to increase awareness of the Christian faith in the UK and across the world. The SPCK is t ...

, the

Religious Tract Society The Religious Tract Society was a British evangelical Christian organization founded in 1799 and known for publishing a variety of popular religious and quasi-religious texts in the 19th century. The society engaged in charity as well as commerci ...

, Carey Press, Sheldon Press and others. Prater specialised in illustrating boys' adventure stories. Among the well-known authors whose works he illustrated were

G.A. Henty George Alfred Henty (8 December 1832 – 16 November 1902) was an English novelist and war correspondent. He is most well-known for his works of adventure fiction and historical fiction, including ''The Dragon & The Raven'' (1886), ''For The ...

, R.M. Ballantyne, W.H.G. Kingston, Percy F. Westerman, Frank T. Bullen, Tom Bevan, Herbert Hayens and Bessie Marchant. He was noted for his painting ''The Last Pass: A Thrilling Moment in a Rugby Match. He also collaborated with

Sidney Paget Sidney Edward Paget () (4 October 1860 – 28 January 1908) was a British artist of the Victorian era, best known for his illustrations that accompanied Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories in ''The Strand Magazine''. Life Sid ...

, the illustrator for the Sherlock Holmes books by

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for '' A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

. One such drawing was the funeral for Queen Victoria (location unknown). In 1911 he was living at Newquay, The Leas, Westcliff in the parish of

Prittlewell Prittlewell is an inner city area of Southend-on-Sea in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. Historically, Prittlewell is the original settlement of the city, Southend being the ''south end'' of Prittlewell. ...

. His occupation is Artist Illustrator B and W. Living in the household are his wife Florence Alice Prater (née Norris) and their children Gladys Alma (11), Marie Lilian Marguerite (9), Minnie Winifred (6), Ruby Albina (3) and Raleigh Brandon (1).1911 Census He died in London on Sunday 11 June 1950, aged 86. A photograph of him appeared in ''The Sphere'' on 27 January 1900, and in ''The Year's Art'' in 1901.

References

Selected illustrated books

* Henty, G. A.
The lost heir
' (Toronto: Copp, Clark, 1899). *Lampen, Charles Dudley.
Mirango the man-eater: a tale of Central Africa
' (London, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1899). *Miller, J. Martin.
Official history of the Russian-Japanese war
' (1904). * Mathews, Basil Joseph. **''Livingstone, the Pathfinder'', illustrated by Ernest Prater (Oxford and London: Henry Frowde Oxford University Press, 1913) **
John Williams, the shipbuilder
' (Oxford and London: Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, 1915). *Padwick, C. E.
Mackay of the Great Lake
' (London: H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1917).

External links

Work by E. Prater
(Bridgeman Art library) * * *
Books illustrated by Ernest Prater
(

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Prater, Ernest 1864 births 1950 deaths 19th-century English painters 19th-century war artists 20th-century English painters British children's book illustrators British war artists English illustrators English male painters People from Islington (district) British illustrators 20th-century English male artists 19th-century English male artists