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 9 of a 20 – part series on the works of W. Heath Robinson
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1912 Bill the Minder (continued from parts 7 and 8 of this series):
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| Harmless Indeed Were Our Joys |
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| I Pleaded my Case |
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| And Killed It On The Spot |
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| We Cooked a Great Steak |
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| She Now Made Off to the Woods |
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| He Would Climb to the Topmost Branches |
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| And Played it For My Delight |
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| Sweeping the Dead Leaves |
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| With no Other Wealth Than My Concertina |
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| Affected by His Story |
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| Plump into the River We Went |
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| Followed Him at the Greatest Speed |
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| There Grew in Front of Me a Great Mound |
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| Sneezing and Sneezing |
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| Heading to 'The Merchant's Wife' pen and watercolour 20.3 x 23.5 cm |
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| Bringing With Them a Little Old Man |
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| Moping About the Common |
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| Kept Him Out of Mischief |
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| Glorious Tarts and Sweets |
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| It Didn't Matter How Much You Ate |
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| They Came Upon a Great Stone Sphinx |
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| The Heads Served for Dolls |
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| You Are Now Our Only Hope |
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| I Fished and Fished |
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| Closely Observed From the Watch Towers |
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| These Parcels Were Now Labelled |
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| And Packed Him Off to Persia |
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| Troy Became the Happiest Town |
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| The End |
