William Haselden
Encyclopedia
William Kerridge Haselden (3 December 1872, Seville
, Spain – 25 December 1953, Aldeburgh
) was an English cartoonist
and caricaturist.
He was the second of five children of Adolphe Henry Haselden and his wife Susan Elizabeth (née Kerridge). Haselden's parents were both English but met in Seville, where his father was director of the Seville Gasworks
.
Haselden's father died During a family holiday to England in 1874, and the remaining family stayed in England, settling in Hampstead
. The young William's education at a private school was cut short due to the family's financial problems, and he left school at the age of 16 with no formal artistic training.
He worked unhappily as an underwriter
at Lloyd's
in London for thirteen years before some of his sketches were accepted for the periodical The Sovereign. When this ceased publication a few months later, he obtained some freelance work on the Tatler
and St. James's Gazette. After approaching the offices of Alfred Harmsworth in 1903, Haselden managed to obtain a full-time post on Harmsworth's new venture, the Daily Mirror. Here he remained until his retirement in 1940.
At the Mirror, Haselden originally started with political cartoons, but soon settled into his trademark style of gentle, conservative social commentary reflecting on middle class fashions and manners. His cartoons usually consisted of a single frame divided into a number of panels, for which he has been viewed as the father of British strip cartoon
.
During the World War I, Haselden established a popular reputation with his only truly sustained attempt at political caricature, the adventures of "Big and Little Willie", mocking Kaiser Wilhelm
and his son, The Crown Prince
. A compilation, The Sad Adventures of Big and Little Willie, was published in 1915; the same year the first British tank prototype would be named Little Willie
.
Haselden often lampooned social and technological trends of the time by making bold predictions about how the future would transpire, including fashion, camera phones and feminism.
From 1906, Haselden contributed to Punch
as a theatrical caricaturist, retiring in 1936 due to increasing deafness.
Haselden's work for the Mirror was published in 29 volumes of Daily Mirror Reflections between 1906 and 1935. His work drew praise from celebrities including Margot Asquith
, Stanley Baldwin
, Paul Nash
, Walter Sickert
.
In 1907 Haselden married Eleanor Charlotte Lane-Bayliff (1875–1944). They had two children, Celia Mary and John Kerridge Haselden. Haselden spent most of his working life resident in London, but from the mid 1930s spent more time at the family's holiday home in Aldeburgh
, Suffolk to where he eventually retired. He died of natural causes on Christmas Day, 1953.
His Times obituary recalled the hallmark of his work as its "unfailing amiability". Its editorial of the same day complimented his work as a sourcebook for the social historian, adding that "the man who could avoid the cartoonist's two pitfalls of cruelty and insipidity was no small artist, even in a small field".
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, Spain – 25 December 1953, Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh is a coastal town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. Located on the River Alde, the town is notable for its Blue Flag shingle beach and fisherman huts where freshly caught fish are sold daily, and the Aldeburgh Yacht Club...
) was an English cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
and caricaturist.
He was the second of five children of Adolphe Henry Haselden and his wife Susan Elizabeth (née Kerridge). Haselden's parents were both English but met in Seville, where his father was director of the Seville Gasworks
Gasworks
A gasworks or gas house is a factory for the manufacture of gas. The use of natural gas has made many redundant in the developed world, however they are often still used for storage.- Early gasworks :...
.
Haselden's father died During a family holiday to England in 1874, and the remaining family stayed in England, settling in Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
. The young William's education at a private school was cut short due to the family's financial problems, and he left school at the age of 16 with no formal artistic training.
He worked unhappily as an underwriter
Underwriting
Underwriting refers to the process that a large financial service provider uses to assess the eligibility of a customer to receive their products . The name derives from the Lloyd's of London insurance market...
at Lloyd's
Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's, also known as Lloyd's of London, is a British insurance and reinsurance market. It serves as a partially mutualised marketplace where multiple financial backers, underwriters, or members, whether individuals or corporations, come together to pool and spread risk...
in London for thirteen years before some of his sketches were accepted for the periodical The Sovereign. When this ceased publication a few months later, he obtained some freelance work on the Tatler
Tatler
Tatler has been the name of several British journals and magazines, each of which has viewed itself as the successor of the original literary and society journal founded by Richard Steele in 1709. The current incarnation, founded in 1901, is a glossy magazine published by Condé Nast Publications...
and St. James's Gazette. After approaching the offices of Alfred Harmsworth in 1903, Haselden managed to obtain a full-time post on Harmsworth's new venture, the Daily Mirror. Here he remained until his retirement in 1940.
At the Mirror, Haselden originally started with political cartoons, but soon settled into his trademark style of gentle, conservative social commentary reflecting on middle class fashions and manners. His cartoons usually consisted of a single frame divided into a number of panels, for which he has been viewed as the father of British strip cartoon
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
.
During the World War I, Haselden established a popular reputation with his only truly sustained attempt at political caricature, the adventures of "Big and Little Willie", mocking Kaiser Wilhelm
Kaiser Wilhelm
Kaiser Wilhelm is a common reference to two German emperors:* Wilhelm I, German Emperor , King of Prussia; became the first Kaiser of a united Germany...
and his son, The Crown Prince
Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany
Frederick William Victor Augustus Ernest of the House of Hohenzollern was the last Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Prussia and the German Empire. He was colloquially known as William or Wilhelm throughout Europe....
. A compilation, The Sad Adventures of Big and Little Willie, was published in 1915; the same year the first British tank prototype would be named Little Willie
Little Willie
Little Willie was a prototype in the development of the British Mark I tank. Constructed in the summer of 1915 through a close cooperation of the military and industry of the United Kingdom, it was the first completed tank prototype in history...
.
Haselden often lampooned social and technological trends of the time by making bold predictions about how the future would transpire, including fashion, camera phones and feminism.
From 1906, Haselden contributed to Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
as a theatrical caricaturist, retiring in 1936 due to increasing deafness.
Haselden's work for the Mirror was published in 29 volumes of Daily Mirror Reflections between 1906 and 1935. His work drew praise from celebrities including Margot Asquith
Margot Asquith
Margot Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith , born Emma Alice Margaret Tennant, was an Anglo-Scottish socialite, author and wit...
, Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
, Paul Nash
Paul Nash (artist)
Paul Nash was a British landscape painter, surrealist and war artist, as well as a book-illustrator, writer and designer of applied art. He was the older brother of the artist John Nash.-Early life:...
, Walter Sickert
Walter Sickert
Walter Richard Sickert , born in Munich, Germany, was a painter who was a member of the Camden Town Group in London. He was an important influence on distinctively British styles of avant-garde art in the 20th century....
.
In 1907 Haselden married Eleanor Charlotte Lane-Bayliff (1875–1944). They had two children, Celia Mary and John Kerridge Haselden. Haselden spent most of his working life resident in London, but from the mid 1930s spent more time at the family's holiday home in Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh is a coastal town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. Located on the River Alde, the town is notable for its Blue Flag shingle beach and fisherman huts where freshly caught fish are sold daily, and the Aldeburgh Yacht Club...
, Suffolk to where he eventually retired. He died of natural causes on Christmas Day, 1953.
His Times obituary recalled the hallmark of his work as its "unfailing amiability". Its editorial of the same day complimented his work as a sourcebook for the social historian, adding that "the man who could avoid the cartoonist's two pitfalls of cruelty and insipidity was no small artist, even in a small field".