More Victorian illustrators: Alfred Crowquill

“Alfred Crowquill” was the pseudonym of Victorian artist Alfred Henry Forrester. Early in his career, he shared the pseudonym with his older brother Charles, who collaborated with Alfred by writing text to accompany Alfred’s illustrations. The library’s current exhibit, Victorian Illustrators from Sketch to Print features the original manuscript of one of their collaborations, The Pictorial Grammar, which was published in 1842. Alfred Forrester’s solo output includes illustrations for books of humor and poetry as well as children’s books. Here are some examples of his work found in Special Collections:

 “Ride a cockhorse to Banbury Cross” from Nursery Rhymes Illustrated by Alfred Crowquill, ca. 1865.

“Catching–a cold” from Seymour’s Humorous Sketches, 1872

Illustration from Sir Theodore Martin, The Book of Ballads, 1845