Charles George Harper

Charles George Harper (1863–1943) was an English author and illustrator. Born in London, England, Harper wrote self-illustrated travel books, including those exploring the regions, roads, coastlines, literary connections, and old inns of Britain. In later life, he lived in Petersham.

Charles George Harper
Charles George Harper
Charles George Harper
Sketch magazine, 30 September 1896
Born1863
Marylebone, London, England
Died1943
Petersham, London, England
Known forSelf-illustrated travel books
StylePen drawing
Dunster Castle and Yarn Market, from The Somerset Coast (1909)
The old church in Kingston Seymour, from The Somerset Coast (1909)

Aside from the some 170 topographical works, he wrote a books on drawing and its techniques, including English Pen Artists of To-day (1892) and A Practical Handbook of Drawing for Modern Methods of Reproduction (1894), and, as an anti-feminist polemic, Revolted Woman; past, present, and to come (1894), and a satirical novel, Hearts Do Not Break: a Tale of the Lower Slopes (1896), attacking logrolling among the London literary set.

Critical assessment

R. E. D. Sketchley's English Book-Illustration of To-Day (1903) characterised Harper's travel books as "… written and drawn with spirited observation. His drawing is not so picturesque as his writing. It has reticence and justness of expression that would not serve in relating tales of the road, but which, together with a sense of colour and of what is pictorial, combine to form an effective and frequently distinctive style of illustration".

N. W. Webster's article "The English traveller"' (1974) describes him as "more a capable draughtsman than a creative artist, although his books would lose much without his delightful sketches".

Published works (selected)

Further reading
  • Baker, Charles (1978). British Book Illustrators 1860–1900: a bibliography. Birmingham Bookshop.
  • Sketchley, R. E. D. (1903). English Book-Illustration of To-Day. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner and Co. pp. 47–48.
  • Webster, N. W. (1974). "The English traveller: Charles G. Harper, 1863–1943". Antiquarian Book Monthly Review (16).

References
  1. "Review of The Marches of Wales by Charles G. Harper". The Athenaeum (3525): 634. 18 May 1895.
  2. "Review of The Old Inns of Old England by Charles G. Harper". The Athenaeum (4130): 794–795. 22 December 1906.
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