Randolph Caldecott, Illustrator

The two illustrations in this blog are by Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886) an illustrator during the Victorian era. His illustrations were very popular with the children of his time possibly due to the vibrant colors and content of the books.

Caldecott, a very successful magazine illustrator by the age of 26 was also commissioned for illustrations for novels, travel guides, and children's books. Sales of Randolph's Nursery Rhymes (of twelve books) reached 867,000 copies and he became internationally famous.

However, his health was generally poor which prompted frequent travel to the Mediterranean and other warm climates. While touring in the United States, Caldecott died while visiting St. Augustine, Florida due to complications of a heart condition resulting from a childhood illness when he was not quite 40 years of age.