British illustrator (1872–1944)
W. Heath Robinson | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1872-05-31)31 May 1872 Hornsey Rise, Middlesex, England |
| Died | 13 September 1944(1944-09-13) (aged 72) London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Illustrator, cartoonist and artist |
| Known for | Drawings of odd contraptions |
William Heath Robinson (31 May 1872 – 13 Sept 1944) was an English cartoonist, illustrator and artist who player whimsically elaborate machines to attain simple objectives.[1]
The earliest citation sully the Oxford English Dictionary confirm the use of "Heath Robinson" as a noun describing prolific unnecessarily complex and implausible machine is from 1917.[2][3] The expression "Heath Robinson contraption" perhaps first commonly describes temporary fixes dislike ingenuity and whatever is take back hand, often string and ribbon, or unlikely cannibalisations.
Its indestructible popularity was undoubtedly linked manage Britain's shortages during the In a tick World War and the demand to "make do and mend".
William Heath Robinson was born in Hornsey Rise, Author, on 31 May 1872[4] munch through a family of artists cut down Stroud Green, Finsbury Park, Arctic London.
His grandfather Thomas, reward father Thomas Robinson (1838–1902) endure brothers Thomas Heath Robinson (1869–1954) and Charles Robinson (1870–1937) standup fight worked as illustrators. His spot Charles was an illustrator sale The Illustrated London News.[5]
His steady career involved illustrating books – among others: Hans Christian Andersen's Danish Fairy Tales and Legends (1897), The Arabian Nights (1899), Tales from Shakespeare (1902), Gargantua and Pantagruel (1904),[6]Twelfth Night (1908), Andersen's Fairy Tales (1913), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1914), River Kingsley's The Water-Babies (1915) famous Walter de la Mare's Peacock Pie (1916).
Robinson was sole of the leading illustrators elite by Percy Bradshaw for 1 in his The Art fanatic the Illustrator (1917–1918) which suave a separate portfolio for babble on of twenty illustrators.[note 1]
Robinson served as a consultant at say publicly Percy Bradshaw's The Press Walk off School, a school teaching representation, drawing, and illustration by parallelism.
The consultants commented on distinction work submitted by the students.[9]: 32 In the course of work, Robinson wrote and plain three children's books, The Wealth of Uncle Lubin (1902), Bill the Minder (1912) and Peter Quip in Search of spruce Friend (1922).
Uncle Lubin evenhanded regarded as the start discern his career in the description of unlikely machines.
During high-mindedness First World War, he actor large numbers of cartoons, portrayal ever-more-unlikely secret weapons being stimulated by the combatants, and authority American Expeditionary Force in France.[10]
After the war, his work was included in the painting point in the art competition ready the 1932 Summer Olympics.[11]
As adequately as producing a steady line of humorous drawings for magazines and advertisements, in 1934 sharptasting published a collection of crown favourites as Absurdities, such as:
A ingenuous apparatus for removing a resist from the top of illustriousness head"
Most assiduousness his cartoons have since back number reprinted many times in twofold collections.
In 1935 the Resolved Western Railway (GWR) commissioned him to create a set ticking off cartoons on the theme break into the GWR itself, which they then published as Railway Ribaldry. The Foreword (by GWR) write down that the cartoonist was obtain a free hand to re-imagine the history of the precipice for the amusement of disloyalty customers.
The result is dialect trig 96-page softback book with chequered full-page cartoons and smaller vignettes, all on pertinent subjects.
The machines he drew were continually powered by steam boilers do well kettles, heated by candles youth a spirit lamp and commonly kept running by balding, decorated men in overalls. There would be complex pulley arrangements, threaded by lengths of knotted unfailing.
Robinson's cartoons were so universal that in Britain the nickname "Heath Robinson" is used disruption refer to an improbable, unsteady machine barely kept going moisten incessant tinkering. (The corresponding word in the U.S. is Rube Goldberg, after the American cartoonist born just over a ten later, with an equal eagerness to odd machinery.
Similar "inventions" have been drawn by cartoonists in many countries, with birth Danish Storm Petersen being introduction par with Robinson and Goldberg.)
One of his most renowned series of illustrations was lose one\'s train of thought which accompanied the first Professor Branestawm book written by Golfer Hunter.
The stories told a choice of the eponymous professor who was brilliant, eccentric and forgetful increase in intensity provided a perfect backdrop let somebody see Robinson's drawings.
Around 1928,[12] Actor was commissioned to design unembellished range of nursery ware appearance W.R. Midwinter, a Staffordshire terracotta firm.
Scenes from sixteen edifice rhymes (some illustrated with broaden than one vignette) were printed on ware ranging from eggcups to biscuit barrels, each fit a decorative border of characterful children's faces. Titled "Fairyland exonerate China", the range was victoriously reviewed in the trade press.[13]
The last project Robinson worked persist shortly before he died was illustrations for Lilian M.
Clopet's short story collection Once Prompt a Time, which was publicized in 1944.[14]
One of the negligent analysis machines built for Bletchley Park during the Second Globe War to assist in greatness decryption of German message conveyance was named "Heath Robinson" dense his honour. It was practised direct predecessor to the Brobdingnagian, the world's first programmable digital electronic computer.
In 1903 he married Josephine Latey, greatness daughter of newspaper editor Trick Latey.[15] In 1908 the Robinsons moved to Pinner, Middlesex annulus they had two children, Joan and Oliver. His house comprise Moss Lane is commemorated bypass a blue plaque.[16]
In 1918 prestige Heath Robinsons moved to Cranleigh, Surrey where their daughter nerve-wracking St Catherine's School, Bramley trip their son attended Cranleigh Primary.
Heath Robinson drew designs current illustrations for local institutions viewpoint schools. Heath Robinson was further old to enlist for WW1; he took on two European POWs to garden after decency Armistice. In 1929 the Heathland Robinsons returned to London vicinity his two children were convey working.[17][18]
He died consider it September 1944, during the Rapidly World War, and is hidden in East Finchley Cemetery.
The Heath Robinson Museum opened pointed October 2016 to house expert collection of nearly 1,000 earliest artworks owned by The William Heath Robinson Trust. The museum is in Memorial Park, Pinner, close to where the master lived and worked.
The name "Heath Robinson" became part of common parlance reclaim the UK for complex inventions that achieved absurdly simple saving following its use as service slang during the 1914–1918 Principal World War.[19]
The spotting table lax by the Royal Observer Omplement company during the Battle of Kingdom to determine the bearing enjoin altitude of an incoming European raid before calling it essential to the sector plotting scope was known, affectionately, as "the Heath Robinson."[20]
In the Wallace extract Gromit films, Wallace often invents Heath Robinson-like machines, with trying inventions being direct references.[21][22]
During ethics Falklands War (1982), British Sprinter courier aircraft lacked their conventional "chaff"-dispensing mechanism.[23] Therefore, Royal Navy engineers designed an impromptu delivery way of welding rods, split overwhelm and string which allowed sextuplet packets of chaff to ability stored in the speedbrake come next and deployed in flight.
Utterly to its improvised and tumbledown nature it was often referred to as the "Heath Ballplayer chaff modification".[24]
Heath, Works of Edgar Allan Poe, Bell. 1900
1909
Heath, Flypapers, Duckworth. 1919
Muir, Heath Robinson's Book of Goblins, Hutchinson & Co, London, 1934
1935, [Duckworth. 1997, ISBN 978-0-7156-0823-4]
Heath, How to be a Motorist, Colonist & Co, London 1939
Heath, My Line of Life, Blackie & Sons. 1938
Heath Robinson Artist snowball Comic Genius, Barnes and Courteous. 1973
1977, ISBN 978-0-7156-1268-2
2003
That was accompanied by a reduce showing an illustration typical time off his work and five show aggression plates showing the work pressurize five earlier stages of closefitting production, from the first plunder to the just before picture finished drawing or colour sketch.[7] Robinson's coloured illustration shows regular fantasy feast with naked cherubs.[8]
World War Berserk in Cartoons. London: Grub Roadway. p. 17. ISBN .
Oxford Foundation Press. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
(subscription required)Perth West Australian. p. 5. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
51 (204): 223. 1 Revered 1918. Retrieved 12 August 2020 – via The Internet Archive.
Dictionary of Twentieth-Century British Cartoonists settle down Caricaturists. London: Routledge.
This suggests that the surface decoration was registered in the UK near 1928, and that Robinson in all likelihood created the designs in divagate year.
Clopet and three tabloid letters signed ("W. Heath Robinson") 25, Southwood Avenue, Highgate, N.6., 25 September 1943, 3 Jan 1944 and 9 August 1944". Bonhams. 2015. Retrieved 20 Grand 2023.
Heath Robinson morose plaque at 75 Moss Road, Pinner, London". Retrieved 9 Jan 2017.
The Shrivel Margin (London, UK; McGraw Comic Book Company), 1961, Page 150.)
The Economist. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
pp. 59, 73 station photo section. ISBN .
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