Tom Browne (1870 – 1910) was an extremely popular English strip cartoonist, painter and illustrator of the late Victorian and Edwardian periods.
Browne started earning a wage as a milliner's errand boy in 1882. From there he was apprenticed to a lithographic printer and eked out a living with freelance cartoons for London comic papers. He received 30 shillings for his first strip, published by the magazine “Scraps,” and called "He Knew How To Do It".
Comic Cuts, a British comic book was founded by Alfred Harmsworth in 1890. Cheaply printed, it proved to be the ideal medium for Browne's bold drawing style. Browne's comic strips soon became so popular that he moved to London and into a studio in Wollaton House at Westcombe Park, London. Here he turned out six full-page strips a week, but also managed to produce illustrations for several British magazines. His cartoons appeared in the magazines Punch, The Tatler and other highly rated periodicals of the day. The logo of Johnnie Walker whiskey, the strutting, monocled character, was created by Browne in 1908.
Browne was a founding member of the London Sketch Club, was publicly acclaimed and was made a “Royal Illustrator.” His cycling trips took him all over the world, while illustrations of these exploits appeared in the newspapers. Returning to Nottingham, he started a colour printing firm and joined the Territorial Army.
He also created the comic strip Weary Willie and Tired Tim, inspired by Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, which appeared on the front page of Illustrated Chips from 1896 to 1953. Browne played a major part in the evolution of the British comic style, influencing Bruce Bairnsfather, Didley Watkins and Leo Baxendale. His strip 'Airy Alf and Bouncing Billy' first appeared in The Big Budget around 1900, and was later continued by Ralph Hodgson aka "Yorick". His comic, Dan Leno, portrayed the Victorian English music hall comedian and appeared in Dan Leno's Comic Journal in 1898. Echoes of his impudent urchins can still be seen in The Beano and The Dandy comics today.
More of his characters were 'Little Willy and Tiny Tim', 'Mr. Stankey Deadstone and Company', 'The Rajah' and 'Don Quixote de Tintogs'. Browne died after surgery for cancer at the age of 39. He was buried with military honours at Shooter’s Hill.
For more information on Browne, and for earlier works see part 1 also.
This is part 2 of 9 parts on the works of Tom Browne:
c1902-03 London Street Studies Valentine (Postcards) Series:
 |
| "Impudence and Dignity." postcard |
 |
| "The finest flow of language ever 'eard." postcard |
 |
| A limb of the Law. postcard |
 |
| The Merry Wives of Windsor. Her Majesty's Theatre, Haymarket. postcard |
 |
| 1904 Savage Club House Dinner "Saturday December 17th 1904" |
 |
| 1904 The Tatler magazine The origin of a Famous Saying - A Good Golf "Lie." |
 |
| 1904 The Tatler magazine A Studio Evening |
 |
| 1904 The Tatler magazine A treat in Store Chorus; "We shal meet on the be-eutiful shoar!" |
 |
| 1904 The Tatler magazine Christmas in Ireland "And a spirit in my feet has led me to thy chamber window, sweet" |
 |
| 1904 The Tatler magazine Donkey Boy; Wot price this fer hexercise? A bob a day and me grub. Wot oh! |
 |
| 1904 The Tatler magazine The Country Fair |
 |
| 1904 The Tatler Scene: College boys drawn up in a quad answering to the call from master in Latin, "adsum" Two bicklayers repairing part of wall First Bricklayer: Bill severt bloomin' bo says 'ad some, but not one on 'em says how mucsh they 'ad |
 |
| 1905 The Tatler magazine Country Greetings |
 |
| 1905 The Tatler magazine On Trafalgar day |
 |
| 1905 The Tatler magazine One too many for him |
 |
| 1905 The Tatler magazine The Flirt |
 |
| 1905 The Tatler magazine Worth Saving |
 |
| 1905 The Tatler On the day of the big cricket match |
 |
| c1905 "Beauty and the Barge" poster 72.8 x 48.8 cm Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
 |
| 1906 The Tatler magazine A Matter of Choice |
 |
| 1906 The Tatler magazine In a Boarding-House |
 |
| 1906 Working Man, sitting on the steps of a big house in, say, Russell Square, smoking pipe. A mate passes by with plumbing tools, &c. |
 |
| 1908-1910 Johnnie Walker Whisky "Coaching 1920" colour lithograph 36.5 x 37.5 cm Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
 |
| 1908-1910 Johnnie Walker Whisky "Cricket 1920" colour lithograph 36.5 x 27.5 cm Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
 |
| 1908-1910 Johnnie Walker Whisky "Curling 1920" colour lithograph 37 x 28 cm Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
 |
| 1908-1910 Johnnie Walker Whisky "Fishing 1920" colour lithograph 36.5 x 37.5 cm Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
 |
| 1908-1910 Johnnie Walker Whisky "Golfing 1920" colour lithograph 36.5 x 37.5 cm Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
 |
| 1908-1910 Johnnie Walker Whisky "Hinting 1920" colour lithograph 36.5 x 27.8 cm Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
 |
| 1908-1910 Johnnie Walker Whisky "Hunting 1920" colour lithograph 36.5 x 27.8 cm Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
 |
| 1908-1910 Johnnie Walker Whisky "Shooting 1920" colour lithograph 36.5 x 37.8 cm Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
 |
| 1908-1910 Johnnie Walker Whisky Logo |
 |
| 1908-1910 Johnnie Walker Whisky Born 1820 - Still going Strong |
 |
| 1908-1910 Johnnie Walker Whisky For Christmas |
 |
| 1908-1910 Johnnie Walker Whisky 1820 Not Out |
 |
| 1909 Brush Pen and Pencil The Book of Tom Browne published by Adam and Charles Black |
 |
| 1909 The Graphic Midsummer Number "Close-Hauled." |
 |
| 1909 The Graphic The Light Side of Things. By Our Travelling Artist. - No.2 |
 |
| 1909 The Graphic The Light Side of Things. By Our Travelling Artist. - No.3 |
 |
| 1910 Johnnie Walker Whisky "In the mid-stream of opposition" |
 |
| 1930 from The Book of Tome Browne "Blow, Bloe, Thou Winter Wind." (c1902)brush pen and pencil |
 |
| 1930 from The Book of Tome BrowneSally in Our Alley (1907)brush pen and pencil |
Note: From here on in the series, the rest of the works on Tom Browne are undated:
 |
| A Paris Boulevard colour lithograph 25.4 x 71.1 cm |
 |
| A Paris Boulevard (detail) |
 |
| Fry's Chocolate advertising postcard "See their Eyes, as she buys FRY'S." |
 |
| Gilded Johnny. |
 |
| The Tatler magazine The Straight Tip |