Pictures in the Post: The Illustrated Letters of Sir Henry Thornhill to His Grandchildren

by Michael Baker (Editor), Henry Thornhill

In 1914 Sir Henry Thornhill, a distinguished soldier-administrator of the British Raj in India, started sending illustrated cards to his two-year-old grandson, Teddy. The pictures featured the adventures of a number of animals, principally Mr. Hare and an elephant called Hathi. Sir Henry continued to write once a week, not only to Teddy but also in turn to his three young sisters, Margaret, Elizabeth and Ann. As each child became five, the picture cards became letters written in bold capitals and colourfully embellished with drawings of birds and animals, insects and fishes, as well as all manner of new inventions from the great era of pioneering technology that followed World War One. ... a touching record of a grandfather's close relationship with his grandchildren....the letters rank in the very best English tradition of adult whimsy for the young...which will delight readers of all ages for many years to come.

Printed on semi-gloss paper. Colour illustrations throughout. Part of the 800 items which form the collection of colour illustrated letters sent by Sir Henry Thornhill

Genres: Art

159 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

An utterly charming read, for anyone who has had a loving grandfather, or who enjoys illustrations for children.

Sir Henry Thornhill was born in India in 1854, into a British family who had been out there since 1726. He was obviously very able, but also sweetly eccentric. Whilst he was a man of his time - seen in the way he had a passion for shooting birds and small animals (yuk, yuk, yuk!) - he nevertheless comes across someone who is observant, sensitive and supportive towards people.

He was a marvellous artist, and did sketches and watercolours throughout his life.

One gets the impression that he had a great enthusiasm for life generally. For instance he only learned to drive when he was over 60, but enjoyed it enormously. He was tall - 6'8" - and in order to drive his family's tiny Austin Seven, he had to take out the front seat and steer from the back!

He cared deeply for children, and over his life did a lot of charitable work on behalf of children in need. He always carried in his pockets butterfly-shaped chocolates which he would give liberally to any child in the vicinity.

He was fascinated by modern inventions, but also natural history and he always had a small menagerie of animals, including at one time ten dogs and a monkey. He was a good mimic, and once cause mayhem in the monkey house at London Zoo, by doing monkey calls!

So...this is the artist, and deeply caring grandfather of Teddy, Margaret, Ann and Elizabeth. The book is full of the fabulous illustrated correspondence that he sent to his grandchildren. His love for them comes across beautifully in his letters, both in the writing and the pictures.

Sir Henry's grandchildren...


And a taster of some of his artworks...











In many books about artists, the writing is secondary in quality to the illustrations, this is not the case with this book. It was a great pleasure to read about Sir Henry's life and interests, and to warm towards the man as well as towards his enchanting pictures.