William Heath Robinson (1872 – 1944) was an English illustrator and cartoonist, best known for his drawings of complicated machines for achieving simple objectives. “Heath Robinson Contraption” is a phrase that entered the language during WW1 in Britain, and later in the United States.
William wrote and illustrated three highly successful children’s books (The Adventures of Uncle Lubin 1902, Bill the Minder 1912, Peter Quip in Search of a Friend 1933) as well as illustrating numerous others.
In the run up to WW1, Robinson became known for a series of drawings in magazines such as The Sketch and The Tatler, many of which I will be featuring in this comprehensive look at his work.
This is part 8 of a 20 – part series on the works of W. Heath Robinson
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1912 Bill the Minder (continued from part 7 of this series):
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| The Doctor |
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| Far Sooner Have the Mumps |
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| The Puff Baker |
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| Treated with Delicious Jalaps |
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| The Lord Mayor Held a Long Council |
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| As Some Patients Prepared his Dose |
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| The Very Sparrows Grew Thin |
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| Bowing Politely to the Pillar Boxes |
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| The Church Steeple Had Been Removed |
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| Standing Alone Upon the Walls |
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| Dangling by His Legs |
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| The Respectable Gentleman |
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| The Sicilian Char-Woman |
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| I Took Leave of my Sorrowing Father |
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| Hardly Disguising His Efforts to Ignore Me |
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| Basil Herbert Develops a Chilblain |
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| They Were Compelled to Send for a Physician |
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| The Improvement was Maintained |
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| Discovered a Clove Kernel |
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| I Fell on to the Parsnip |
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| They All Once More Started... |
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| …On their Adventurous Journey |
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| And Left Him to Have His Cry Out |
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| The Whole Camp Was Fast Asleep |
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| The Real Soldier pen and ink and watercolour (subsequently coloured by the artist) 28.6 x 21.6 cm |
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| The Real Soldier |
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| The Real Soldier |
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| 87 'But Hold!' Cried the President |
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| Reginald Completely Lost His Temper |
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| 'Your Fate be Upon Your Own Head' |
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| Floundering About in the Sea |
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| In Expectation of Their Leader |
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