The Modern Age: The Influence of the Golden Age

The Golden Age in the UK happened from 1890 to 1920, this was a glorious time for illustrators, and before this time working as an illustrator was not a job title, but in this time the art world boomed and many fabulous artists flourished. One artist in particular that I would like to research is Heath Robinson.

W. Heath Robinson was born on the 31st of May 1872 and died ages 72 on the 13th September 1944, in his life he worked as a famous cartoonist and is very we
ll known for his illustrations of complicated machinery.

At the beginning of Heaths Career he illustrated many books such as the following(and many more);

DE LA MARE, W. (1916) Peacock Pie

CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN, H. (1897) Danish Fairy Tales and Legends

KINGSLEY, C. (1915) The Water Babies 

SHAKESPEARE, W. (1914 version) A Midsummers Night Dream (Fig 1)

Fig 1. The Arabian Nights 1899 publication illustrated by Heath Robinson

As Heath's career progressed he also wrote and illustrated 3 books of his own, The Adventures of Uncle Lubin 1902, Bill The Minder 1912 (Fig 2) and Peter Quip in Search of a Friend 1922.

Fig 2. Bill Minder (1912) Heath Robinson

In 1902 Heath released his book The Adventures of Uncle Lubin(fig 3), I love the illustrations from this book, they showcase his amazing cartoonist creations and also his complicated machinery illustration. This book is thought to be the first step to his work on complicated and weird machinery.

Fig 3. The Adventures of Uncle Lubin (1902) Illustration by Heath Robinson

After Heath Robinson released The Adventures of Uncle Lubin he started to create more and more illustrations that depicted overly complicated machinery that yielded simple outcomes. For example, Fig 4 is an illustration by Heath that depicts a very large and complicated machine that looks as if it is made from odds and ends that peels potatoes. As Heath started to create more illustrations like this he started to become well known, so well known in fact that from around 1914 to 1918 complex machines that created simple outcomes were refereed to as 'Heath Robinson', his name became a slang phrase to describe such creations. 

And also during WW2 there was an automatic analysis machine that was created for Bletchley Park to help them decode German message traffic, and this machine was named after Heath Robinson in his honour. This machine is also the direct predecessor to the worlds first programmable digital electronic computing machine. 

Fig 4, Potato Peeling Machine by Heath Robinson

Heath Robinson really found his forte and passion in creating these weird and wonderful machines, so in 1934 he released a book filled with his favourite illustrations of this sort called Absurdities(Fig 5). This book is filled with his wondrous creations and his favourites from his career.

Fig 5, Heath Robinson's Absurdities, 1934

Among one of Heath's favourites includes The Wart Chair (Fig 6) this contraption is an largely complicated machine thats purpose is to remove a wart from the head. I love Heath's thinking behind his work, his creations and wonderfully complicated for such simple results, I love the childlike thinking in this and the illustrations are so beautiful and clean that its simply far too difficult to just glance at. The complexity of his pieces draw you in to look around and try to understand the contraption and take in the craftsmanship, love and effort Heath Robinson poured in to his work.

Fig 6, The Wart Chair, Published in Heath Robinson's Absurdities, 1934

Bibliography 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Heath_Robinson
ROBINSON, H. 1934, Absurdities
ROBINSON, H. 1902, The Adventures of Uncle Lubin
ROBINSON, H. 1922, Peter Quip in Search of a Friend