Cecil Aldin ( full name Cecil Charles Windsor Aldin) born in Slough, England in 1870 was an artist and illustrator. He is best known for his paintings and sketches of rural life, dogs, hunting and sports in chalk, pastel and pencil. But less well known for his drawings of inns, manor houses and cathedrals.
He sold his first drawing, which appeared in “The Building News” in 1890. An exhibition was held in Paris in 1909 for his work to which he received much acclaim and this enhanced his popularity.
Throughout his career he illustrated a vast number of books including Sleeping Partners, A Dog Day, Old Inns, Old Manor Houses, White-Ear and Peter and Black Beauty.
His work is as popular today as it was when he was alive. He sadly died in January 1935 in a London Clinic after suffering a heart attack while traveling back to England from his home in Palma.
Cecil Aldin Book Illustrations
The following books were illustrated by Cecil Aldin and many of their full color illustrations can be found in Wall Art Made Easy: Ready to Frame Vintage Cecil Aldin Prints Volumes 1 and 2.
A Dog Day or The Angel in the House (1902) – written by Walter Emanuel tells the story of one typical day in the life of a terrier from the dog’s perspective.
My Dog (1913) – written by Maurice Maeterlinck, it tells the sad story of man’s best friend – his beautiful Parisian born bulldog Pelléas who had recently passed away at just six months old.
White Ear and Peter: the story of a fox and fox-terrier (1912) – written by Neils Heiberg
Black Beauty: the autobiography of a horse (1916) – written by Anna Sewell, a best seller of all time. Black Beauty recounts his life starting from his happy days as a colt on a farm with his mother, to his happy retirement in the country with all the hardships he had to face and the cruelty and kindness that was shown to him along the way.
A Dozen Dogs or So (1928) – by Patrick R Chalmers is a selection of verses about Dogs which appeared in “Punch” including Sheila the Labrador, Fan the hunt Terrier and the Sealyham Terrier.
The Bobtail Puppy Book (1914) – written and illustrated by Cecil Aldin, tells the story of a puppy who has had his tail docked. Throughout the book we meet his various friends who tease him about it. The final chapter reveals just what he did to stop them teasing.
The Merry Puppy Book (1913) – written and illustrated by Cecil Aldin, comprises three different books in one volume – Farm Yard Puppies, The Mongrel Puppy Book and The White Puppy Book. Stories and verses about various puppies and the antics they got up to.
The Mongrel Puppy Book (1912) – written in verse and illustrated by Cecil Aldin, it tells the story of a day in the life of a mongrel puppy.
An Old Fashioned Christmas Day (1910) – by Washington Irving
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (1911) – was Charles Dicken’s first novel. Initially written as a serial in 1836 and then in book format in 1837. The novel is a sequence of humorous loosely related adventures. The main character is Samuel Pickwick Esquire, a kind and wealthy gentleman, the founder of The Pickwick Club. Samuel Pickwick and three other “Pickwickians” travel throughout the English countryside by coach in order to report back to the Club about the way of life in the remotest areas far removed from London. Some of the comical characters they encounter turn out to be very memorable landing them all in trouble.
The Romance of the Road (1933) – written and illustrated by Cecil Aldin. A story that traces two journeys, one by mail coach from London to Bath and one in a stagecoach from London to Portsmouth.
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