Harold Nelson (1871—1948) is one of my favorite ink illustrators, though it doesn't seem his body of work is as large as it might be hoped for. Primarily known for his book-plate designs, he illustrated several books, one of which I will post soon. The St George image shown above was, I believe, originally drawn for Spenser's Faerie Queene; but this version with coloration is from an early XXth century Inland Printer periodical insert, advertising a paper mill. One of my very favorite images.
Nelson submitted a similar design for the British Wembley stamp in January 1924. It was not accepted for that, but formed the basis for the £1 Postal Union Congress stamp of 1929:
It's interesting to see the changes made from concept design to issue:
Nelson submitted a similar design for the British Wembley stamp in January 1924. It was not accepted for that, but formed the basis for the £1 Postal Union Congress stamp of 1929:
It's interesting to see the changes made from concept design to issue:
2 comments:
Thanks for this. That's a true illustrator - nothing is wasted in that Saint George picture. Love the real calligraphy and the mushrooms under the dragon. I always envied how well real illustrators can do foliage like that. Everything about that first pic is great, it's perfect.
A great composition with strength is such a squarred image.
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