Wal Paget
by
Robert J. Kirkpatrick
Much like H.M. Paget, the work of Walter Paget (sometimes known as Wal Paget) has been overlooked in favour of that by his brother Sidney, best-known for his Sherlock Holmes illustrations in The Strand Magazine between 1891 and 1904. Walter is probably best-known as the illustrator of the first editions of ten of G.A. Henty’s novels between 1893 and 1904, and for his illustrations for an edition of Robinson Crusoe in 1891. But he also illustrated many boys’ and girls’ adventure, historical and war stories, and several re-issues of classic novels, as well as contributing to several periodicals.
He was born on 26 January 1862 (and not in 1863 as several sources claim) at the family home at 60 Pentonville Road, Clerkenwell, and baptised as Walter Stanley Paget at St. Mark’s Church, Myddleton Square, Finsbury, on 11 October 1863. His father, Robert Paget, born in Rodborough, Gloucestershire, in 1820) was the Vestry Clerk at St. James’s and St. John’s churches in Clerkenwell. His mother, Martha (
née Clarke), born in Atherstone, Warwickshire, in 1830, was a Professor of Music. They had married on 2 June 1853 in London, and went on to have ten children between 1854 and 1872, including the future artists Henry Marriott Paget (born in 1856) and Sidney Edward Paget (born in 1860).
Walter was educated at the Middle Class School at Cowper Street, Finsbury, from where he was awarded a studentship at the Royal Academy Schools in 1881. He went on to exhibit there in 1884, 1885 and 1886. (Henry and Sidney Paget also attended the Royal Academy Schools, with Henry exhibiting 11 times between 1879 and 1894, and Sidney 13 times between 1879 and 1904).
In late 1882 Walter, along with his brother Sidney and several other artists, was commissioned to illustrate a story by Paul Meritt, “The Hidden Million”, in
The Pictorial World. Just over two years later, in February 1885, whilst he was still a student, and living at 19 Lloyd Square, Clerkenwell, he was commissioned by
The Illustrated London News to provide illustrations of the mission to relieve Major General Charles Gordon at Khartoum, Sudan, which had begun the previous year. He returned to England at the beginning of July, having missed the fall of Khartoum but witnessing the British forces retreat to Egypt.
On 24 April 1889 he married Sophia Borgnet Grenfell at St. Andrew’s Church, Calstock, Cornwall. Sophia, born in Calstock in 1867, was the daughter of Thomas Grenfell, a coal merchant’s agent, and his wife Elizabeth. Walter and Sophia immediately moved to Hertfordshire (initially to High Street Farm, Watford) where they had three children: Joan (born on 10 May 1889), Robert Ferrand (21 September 1893) and Thomas Humphrey (13 August 1893).
In the meantime, Walter had begun contributing to other periodicals, including
Little Folks,
The Magazine of Art,
The Woman’s World,
Cassell’s Magazine, and
The English Illustrated Magazine. He had also begun illustrating books, initially for Cassell & Co., with his first-known book illustrations appearing in
Lost Among White Africans by David Ker, in 1886; and then, in a completely different vein, for Ernest Nister, with a series of books with a religious theme. In 1891, he provided 120 illustrations for an edition of
Robinson Crusoe, published by Cassell & Co. This initially appeared in monthly parts before being re-issued in book form, and it was subsequently reprinted numerous times, both in the UK and abroad.
In the same year, the story goes that W.H. Boot, the Art Director of
The Strand Magazine, chose Walter Paget, on the strength of his earlier periodical work, to illustrate the first six of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. However, not having Walter’s first name, he simply addressed a letter to “Mr Paget, the illustrator.” It was opened by Sidney Paget who, not surprisingly, accepted the commission. The story also goes that Sidney modelled his portrayal of Holmes on Walter – certainly, there are clear facial resemblances between Walter and Holmes (after Walter’s death many newspapers referred to Walter’s “acquiline face, with its deep-set eyes and high forehead”), although his brother Henry Marriott Paget told James Donald Miller that the assertion that Walter, or any other person, served as a model for Holmes was incorrect (
Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 Supplement). In the event, Walter did eventually draw for
The Strand, providing four illustrations for a Conan Doyle story (“The Dying Detective”) in December 1913.
Walter had, by then, been contributing to several other periodicals, including
The Quiver,
The Queen,
The Graphic,
The Pall Mall Magazine,
Young England,
The London Magazine,
The British Workman,
The Family Friend and
The Windsor Magazine. Most importantly, in 1899 he had begun a long association with
The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, for which he provided illustrations up until 1933, and in 1900 he joined the staff of the newly-launched
The Sphere, to which he contributed until 1914. He had also continued his career as a book illustrator, continuing to work with Cassell & Co. and Ernest Nister, and also with Blackie & Son, A. & C. Black and S.W. Partridge & Co. (For Cassell & Co., he was one of many artists commissioned to illustrate part-works such as
Battles of the Nineteenth Century and
Cassell’s History of the Boer War).
Amongst his specialities were boys’ adventure, historical and war stories, illustrating books by authors such as George Manville Fenn, F.S. Brereton, Percy F. Westerman, Herbert Hayens, Tom Bevan, Frederick Harrison and Herbert Strang, and most notably G.A. Henty. He also illustrated a handful of school stories, by Ascott R. Hope and Dorita Fairlie Bruce, and several re-issues of novels by H. Rider Haggard, Robert Louis Stevenson, Walter Scott, Charles Kingsley and W.M. Thackeray. It appears that, unlike many of his contemporaries, he was rarely asked to supply illustrations for children’s annuals, with the notable exception of Cassell’s Christmas annual
Yule Tide, to which he contributed for several years. (His work also appeared in bound annual volumes of periodicals such as
Young England, and in
Mrs Strang’s Annual for Girls).
At the time of the 1901 census, Paget and his family were living at Beeches Grove Cottage, Chorleywood, Hertfordshire. Ten years later, they were at “Bentley”, Stanhope Avenue, Finchley, with their son Thomas recorded as an art student. A year later, on 11 February 1912, Sophia Paget died.
During the First World War, Paget illustrated over a dozen children’s war stories, mainly for Blackie & Son. He did comparatively little work after the war, with his last works being for a series of books in the “Junior Bookshelf” series published by Edinburgh House Press, on life in different countries.
He subsequently moved to Devon Cottage, 7 Belvedere Road, Burnham-on Crouch, Essex. This was his home address when he died, on 29 January 1935, at The Clock House, Fockbury, near Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. He left a small estate valued at just £121 (just over £7,000 in today’s terms – a pitiful reward for his efforts), with probate granted to his brother Frederick Reginald, a tea dealer.
Of his two sons, Robert became a mechanical engineer, and Thomas became a coin and medal designer, and was awarded the OBE in 1948.
Paget was well-respected as an illustrator, especially early in his career. In 1892 M.H. Spielman, writing about his
Robinson Crusoe drawings in Cassell’s
Magazine of Art, declared that “He is an excellent figure draughtsman, with a strong poetic feeling for landscape. His composition, nearly always good, is sufficiently unconventional to be invariably fresh; his power of expression, characterization, and grouping is unfailing; his facility of execution, refreshing; and his knowledge of costume and accessory, consummate.” Other critics were equally as impressed, although his later work was little different to that of many of his contemporaries, with Brigid Peppin and Lucy Micklethwait commenting, in their
Dictionary of British Book Illustrators: The Twentieth Century, that “he worked in a reliably conventional vein.”
PUBLICATIONS
Books illustrated by Walter Paget:
Lost Among White Africans: A Boy’s Adventures on the Upper Congo by David Ker, Cassell & Co., 1886
Cassell’s History of England, Cassell & Co., 1886-1887 (part-work) (with other artists)
King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard, Cassell & Co., 1887 (re-issue)
She by H. Rider Haggard, Cassell & Co., 1887 (re-issue)
Sir Walter’s Ward: A Tale of the Crusades by William Everard, Blackie & Son, 1888
Christmastide in Prose and Poetry, Ernest Nister, 1888
Grandma’s Memories by Mary D. Brine, Ernest Nister, 1888 (with other artists)
The First Christmas: “The Infant Jesus” by Frederick William Faber, Ernest Nister, 1889
Easter Dawn: Choice Hymns Selected from Easter Carols, Ernest Nister, 1889
The Slendid Spur: Being Memoirs of the Adventures of Mr John Marvel, etc etc, by A. Quiller-Couch, Cassell & Co., 1889
Year In, Year Out: A Book of the Months by Helen Maud Waithman, Ernest Nister, 1890
Immortality: A Dainty Book of Eastertide Poetry by Alice Reed and E. Dawson, Ernest Nister, 1890
Shakespeare Pictures, Ernest Nister, 1890 (with H.M. Paget)
Tennyson Pictures, Ernest Nister, 1891 (with Herbert Dicksee)
The Strange and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, Cassell & Co., 1891 (re-issue)
A History of Modern Europe by C.A. Fyffe, Cassell & Co., 1891-1892 (with other artists)
Out of the Fashion by L.T. Meade, Methuen & Co., 1892
For Fortune and Glory: A Story of the Soudan War by Lewis Hough, Cassell & Co., 1892 (re-issue)
Condemned as a Nihilist: A Story of Escape from Siberia by G.A. Henty, Blackie & Son, 1893
The Black Dwarf, and The Legend of Montrose by Walter Scott, A. & C. Black, 1893 (with Lockhart Bogle) (re-issue)
The Man in Black by Stanley John Weyman, Cassell & Co., 1894 (with H.M. Paget) (re-issue)
The Story of the Sea ed. by Arthur Quiller-Couch, Cassell & Co., 1894-1895 (part-work) (with other artists)
In Market Overt by James Payn, Horace Cox, 1895
The Splendid Spur by Arthur Quiller-Couch, Cassell & Co., 1895
Austin Elliot and The Harveys by Henry Kinglsey, Ward, Lock & Co., 1895 (re-issue)
Blue Eyes and Cherry Pies: A Volume of Stories by various authors, Ernest Nister, 1895 (with other artists)
Battles of the Nineteenth Century, Cassell & Co., 1895-1896 (part-work) (with other artists)
A History of the Scottish People, Blackie & Son, 1896 (with other artists)
The Voice of the Charmer by L.T. Meade, Cassell & Co., 1896 (re-issue)
A Legend of Montrose and Castle Dangerous by Walter Scott, Ward, Lock & Bowden 1896 (re-issue)
Cosy Corner Stories: A Volume of Stories by various authors, Ernest Nister, 1896 (with other artists)
Merry Hearts: A Volume of Stories by various authors, Ernest Nister, 1896 (with other artists)
With Frederick the Great: A Story of the Seven Years’ War by G.A. Henty, Blackie & Son, 1897
With Moore at Corunna: A Tale of the Peninsular War by G.A. Henty, Blackie & Son, 1897
At Agincourt: A Tale of the White Hoods of Paris by G.A. Henty, Blackie & Son, 1897
Shakespeare’s Heroines: Characteristics of Women, Moral, Poetical and Historical by Anna Jameson, Ernest Nister, 1897 (re-issue)
Under Wellington’s Command: A Tale of the Peninsular War by G.A. Henty, Blackie & Son, 1899
French and English: A Story of the Struggle in America by Evelyn Everett-Green, T. Nelson & Sons, 1899
A Mystery of the Pacific by William Henry Oliphant Smeaton, Blackie & Son, 1899
In the Grip of the Spaniard by Herbert Hayens, T. Nelson & Sons, 1899
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, Cassell & Co, 1899 (re-issue)
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, Cassell & Co., 1899 (re-issue)
The Surgeon’s Daughter, and Castle Dangerous by Walter Scott, A. & C. Black, 1899 (with Paul Hardy) (re-issue)
With Rifle and Bayonet: A Story of the Boer War by F.S. Brereton, Blackie & Son, 1900
The Good Shepherd: A Book of Religious Stories by L.L. Weedon, Ernest Nister, 1900 (with A. Dudley)
Cassell’s History of the Boer War, 1899-1901, Cassell & Co., 1900-1901 (part-work) (with other artists)
Britain’s Sea Kings and Sea Fights, Cassell & Co., 1900 (with other artists)
Living London: Its Work and Its Play, etc etc., ed. by G.R. Sims, Cassell & Co., 1901- 1903 (part-work) with other artists)
Tales from Shakespeare by Charles & Mary Lamb, Ernest Nister, 1901 (re-issue)
At the Point of the Bayonet: A Tale of the Mahratta War by G.A. Henty, Blackie & Son, 1902
A Gallant Grenadier: A Tale of the Crimean War by F.S. Brereton, Blackie & Son, 1902
A Soldier’s Love by Alfred Barrett, Ward, Lock & Co., 1902
The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson, Charles Scribner’s Sons (USA), 1902 (re-issue)
The Treasure of the Incas: A Tale of Adventure in Peru by G.A. Henty, Blackie & Son, 1903
With the British Legion: A Story of the Carlist Wars by G.A. Henty, Blackie & Son, 1903
Through Three Campaigns: A Story of Chitral, Tirah and Ashanti by G.A. Henty, Blackie & Son, 1904
With the Allies to Pekin: A Tale of the Relief of the Legations by G.A. Henty, Blackie & Son, 1904
Pendennis by W.M. Thackeray, G.D. Sproul (USA), 1904 (re-issue)
Shakespeare’s Heroines by Mrs Jameson, Ernest Nister, 1904
Trapper Dan: A Story of the Backwoods by George Manville Fenn, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1905
Two Barchester Boys: A Tale of Adventure in the Malay Sea by K.M. Eady, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1905
From the Tales of a Grandfather: A History of Scotland from the Early Times to the Union of the Parliaments by T.D. Robb (condensed from Walter Scott), Blackie & Son, 1905
Sydney Lisle, the Heiress of St. Quentin by Dorothea Moore, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1905
The Arabian Nights by William Henry Denham Rouse, Ernest Nister, 1905
The Betrothed by Walter Scott, Macmillan & Co., 1905 (re-issue)
The Iliad of Homer by Alexander Pope, Cassell & Co., 1906 (re-issue)
Under the Roman Eagles by Amyot Sagan, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1907
The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, J.M. Dent & Sons, 1907 (re-issue)
A Book About Yorkshire by J.S. Fletcher, Methuen & Co., 1908 (with Frank Southgate)
Uncle Mac the Missionary, or More News from Korea by Jean Perry, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1908
Runners of Contraband: A Story of Russian Tyranny by Tom Bevan, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1908
The Lady of Blossholme by H. Rider Haggard, Hodder & Stoughton, 1909
Twilight Stories by E. Nesbit and others, Ernest Nister, 1909 (with other artists)
The Children of the New Forest by Frederick Marryat, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1909 (re-issue)
The Heroes, or Greek Fairy Tales for My Children by Charles Kingsley, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1909 (re-issue)
Hereward the Wake by Charles Kingsley, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1909 (re-issue)
Dryden’s Aeneid of Virgil, ed. by Professor A.J. Church, Cassell & Co., 1910
The King’s Scouts by William R.A. Wilson, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1910
The Master of Ballantrae: A Winter’s Tale by Robert Louis Stevenson, Cassell & Co., 1910 (re-issue)
Stories from Dickens by J. Walker McSpadden, George G. Harrap & Co., 1910 (with other artists)
Harold, the Last of the Saxon Kings by Edward Bulwer Lytton, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1911 (re-issue)
Houses of Clay by Lillias Campbell Davidson, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1912
The Little Duke, or Richard the Fearless by Charlotte M. Yonge, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1912
Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor by R.D. Blackmore, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1912 (re-issue)
The River Tramp by John Comfort, S.P.C.K., 1913
Pioneers in South Africa by Sir Harry Johnston, Blackie & Son, 1913
Pioneers in India by Harry Hamilton Johnston, Blackie & Son, 1913
Nobby: A Son of Empire by John Comfort, S.P.C.K., 1913
For England! For France! A Story of the Days of Waterloo by Frederick Harrison, S.P.C.K., 1914
Jack, the Englishman by H. Louisa Bedford, S.P.C.K., 1914
The Crew of the “Silver Fish” by E.E. Cowper, S.P.C.K., 1914
Fruitfulnees by Emile Zola, trans. by Ernest Alfred Vizitelly, Caxton Publishing Co., 1914
At Grips with the Turk: A Story of the Dardanelles Campaign by F.S. Brereton, Blackie & Son, 1915
Nefert, the Egyptian: A Tale of the Time of Moses by J.A. Staunton Batty, S.P.C.K., 1915
With Our Russian Allies by F.S. Brereton, Blackie & Son, 1916
The Unknown Island: A Tale of Adventure in the Seychelles by Bessie Marchant, Blackie & Son, 1916
On the Road to Bagdad: A Story of Townsend’s Gallant Advance on the Tigris by F.S. Brereton, Blackie & Son, 1917
Freda’s Great Adventure: A Story of Paris in Wartime by Alice Massie, Blackie & Son, 1917
A Lively Bit of the Front: A Tale of the New Zealand Rifles on the Western Front by Percy F. Westerman, Blackie & Son, 1918
Margot: The Adventures of Her Voyage from South Africa by Nancy Millicent Chastel de Boinville, A. & C. Black, 1918
A Dangerous Mission: A Tale of Russia by Bessie Marchant, Blackie & Son, 1918
Tom Willoughby’s Scouts: A Story of the War in German East Africa by Herbert Strang, Oxford University Press, 1919
Under Foch’s Command: A Tale of the Americans in France by F.S. Brereton, Blackie & Son, 1919
Charlie’s Mascot by H.C. Cooke, A. & C. Black, 1919
A Transport Girl in France: A Story of the Adventures of a W.A.A.C. by Bessie Marchant, Blackie & Son, 1919
Schoolboys of Other Lands by Ascott R. Hope, A. & C. Black, 1919
The Aussie Crusaders: With Allenby in Palestine by Joseph Bowes, Oxford University Press, 1920
Gerard’s Scottish Adventures by Ascott R. Hope, A. & C. Black, 1920
Don’s Doings: A Tale of the Rockies by John Comfort, S.P.C.K., 1921
The Senior Prefect by Dorita Fairlie Bruce, Oxford University Press, 1921
Dimsie Moves Up by Dorita Fairlie Bruce, Oxford University Press, 1921
If I Lived in Africa by Cicely Hooper, Edinburgh House Press, 1927
If I Lived in Japan by Gwendoline R. Barclay, Edinburgh House Press, 1928
Adventures Afloat in Missionary Ships by A.R. Headland, London Missionary Society, 1929
If I Lived in Palestine by Mary Entwistle, Edinburgh House Press, 1929
If I Lived in India by M.L. Christlieb, Livingstone Press, 1930
If I Lived in China by Lilian E. Cox, Edinburgh House Press, 1933
Of his forty-five years drawing comics he later said: "All in all, thanks to all the writers and editors who have provided the
inspiration for my artwork, my life seems to have been one long holiday,
just being absorbed by my favourite pastimes!"
