| Description | 'MR. SAMBOURNE AT HOME.// An Interview with Mr. Punch's Chief Cartoonist.// The eminent draughts-man who succeeds Sir John Tenniel as cartoonist-in-chief to 'Punch' is an unlike an artist in appearance as a cheery, breezy, vivacious sport-loving gentleman well can be. Mr. Linley Sambourne does not affect the abundant tresses, the disappearing collar and 'butterfly' bow associated in the popular mind with those who handle palette and pencil. He prefers a Norfolk jacket to a velvet coat; he delights to talk of hunters, guns, and dogs, rather than of art and artists, and the covers he likes most to 'draw' are those which conceal game. // Not that Mr. Sambourne takes no interest in the art wherein he has achieved such distinction; quite the contrary; but he is too old at the game - if his fellow-artists will permit the expression - to talk unnecessary ' shop' the 'Daily Mail' representative was in search of when he called at 18 Stafford-terrace, Kensington, the other snowy afternoon. 'Instead of which,' as the ancients have it, Mr. Sambourne greeted his visitor with the news that he was going away for// Three Days' Shooting,// That the weather was hardly conducive to the proper enjoyment of the sport, that the barometer held out no promise of an immediate improvement, and so on, until a great deal of the Badminton Library had been discussed. // It was in the luncheon interval of an exciting 'meet' that at last Mr. Sambourne was inveigled to speak of himself; it was while the beaters were making a preliminary survey of the woods on that eventful day when 'I made my record bag,' that the sporting artist was switched on to an explanation of the way cartoons are drawn. // To begin at the beginning. This was the manner of Mr. Sambourne's introduction to Mr. 'Punch.' In 1867 he was in an engineer's office drawing plans and a limited salary. For pastime he drew more picturesque things, and one of these got into the hands of German Reed, the famous entertainer, who knew Mark Lemon, then editor of 'Punch.' Mr. Reed showed Lemon the drawing, and to his surprise and pleasure the young draughtsman received a letter from the editor asking him if he could draw on wood , and enclosing half a dozen strips of material for him //to Experiment With.// Young Sambourne promptly sent back a picture drawn according to requirements, and no one was more surprised than he when he saw it duly appear in 'Punch's' famous pages. For five years afterwards he contributed regularly to the paper; then in 1871 he joined 'the Table' - that historic weekly gathering at which the destinies of 'Punch' are decided. He was then but twenty-five , and the youngest of the happy and distinguished family that assembled round the board. Now that Sir John Tenniel has retired, he served Mr. 'Punch' for a longer period than any other member of the staff, excepting the editor, Mr. Burnand.// Mr. Sambourne began his career on 'Punch; by drawing ornamental initial letters, one of which is reproduced here by the permission of the proprietors. But in those days a 'Punch' initial frequently ran to nearly page in size, the accompanying type being inserted usually at the right hand bottom corner. This latitude in the matter of space soon gave young Sambourne plenty of scope for the exercise of his imagination, and his 'initial' often became a cartoon in itself. Recognising the best of the young recruit's talent, his editor encouraged him to draw these political first letters, and the natural development was that Sambourne became 'Punch's' second cartoonist. It was equally inevitable that on the retirement of his senior Mr. Sambourne should be appointed his successor.// With the withdrawal of 'Sir Jackides' the last woodcut disappears from 'Punch.' It is not generally know that 'Sir John clung to the old-fashioned style of reproduction up to the end; but Mr. Sambourne favours the 'zinco' process. This, at any rate, is advantageous to the artist, for he can afterwards dispose of the drawing to private individuals. Mr. Sambourne receives many remunerative offers for the originals of his work that appears in 'Punch.' Many of these find their way into the drawing-rooms of the wealthy, and from this source alone Mr. Sambourne derives an income that would gladden the hearts of the majority of black-and-white men.// As to his methods of work, Mr. Sambourne aims mainly at accuracy of detail, and takes elaborate pains to secure it. Some years ago he drew a cartoon representing Mr. Gladstone as the Duke of Wellington. The coat which the statesman was shown as wearing was one which has actually adorned the person of the Iron Duke and was borrowed by Mr. Sambourne for the purposes of his cartoon. On a similar occasion he went to eh trouble of obtaining an old hat that had belonged to Napoleon, while once he enlisted the services of a whole band of musicians, so that he musical instruments he wishes to introduce into a carton should be accurate in every particular. Then, in his 'workhop',// a Snug Little Room// at the top of the house, he has a cabinet containing some 10,000 photographs all carefully indexed, so that he can immediately place his hand on any one he wants. This wonderful collection of picture comprises the uniforms of English and foreign regiments; the uniforms of policemen, home and Continental; photograph of hundreds of politicians and other famous men, some of them taken in many different positions, as, for instance, Sir William Harcourt, of whom there are no fewer that thirteen pictures; a whole 'zoo' of photographed animals, and a dozen National Galleries of classical studies. Hundreds of these photographs were taken by Mr. Sambourne himself, and the whole idea of the collection is to ensure absolute accuracy of detail in any picture he may be engaged upon. // It is in this room that Mr. Sambourne will draw his 'Punch' cartoon. Necessarily much of his work will be done by artificial light, and to obtain an illuminant approximating daylight he has hit upon a happy device. Near his easel stand two engravers' globes, behind which are fixed two electric glow lamps each of fifty candle power. The resulting light is of surprising purity, and is thrown full on the easel. Here Mr. Sambourne picks up from his desk a cheque for five guineas, and explains that he has just received it from a fond parent who enclosed some specimens of drawing by a son, aged thirteen, upon whose prospects of developing into a skilful artist the father wisher Mr. Sambourne to express an opinion. The required information will be given, but some charity will benefit to the amount of the five guineas. Mr. Sambourne's 'workshop,' it is interesting to learn, was his daughter's studio before her marriage. This lady is now Mrs. Messel. As Miss Maud Sambourne she had a couple of excellent drawings in 'Punch' when only a girl of sixteen. She has inherited her father's artistic gifts to a remarkable degree.// Before bidding Mr. Sambourne good-bye the inquisitive visitor is permitted to see one or two of the other rooms in the artist's charming home. The drawing-room is a dream of luxury and refinement in furnishing and decoration. Such a room is only possible in the home of one endowed with artistic taste. Some very fine specimens of bronze statuary are noticed including John Bell's 'Eagle Slayer,' the original of which share with Thorneycroft's 'Gordon' the distincation of being the most perfect specimen's of sculpture in London. A large stained window of curious design attracts attention, and Mr. Sambourne explains that he himself prepared drawings for it. Even here Mr. 'Punch' occupies a place of honour, for a complete set of him, handsomely bound, stands near the great open fireplace. // Over tea and one of Mr. Sambourne's special Havanas art and artists are once more forgotten. He is back in the hunting field or among the stubble.' |