CUNEO, Cyrus. (HAGGARD, Sir Henry Rider) ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATION to
Colonel Quaritch. [c.1907]
Signed watercolour in black & white on printer's board, printer's annotations on verso.
¶The printer's pencil annotations on verso are: 'Page 222. "He saw Edward Cossey put his ... hand to his head". Colonel Quaritch'. Copac does not record an individual edition of Colonel Quaritch illustrated by Cuneo. Dawn, The Witches Head, Colonel Quaritch, First Omnibus Edition, with three full page illustrations by Cuneo, was published by George Newnes in 1907. In the foreground a man (Edward Cossey) in shock, holds his left hand to his forehead and looks about to fall. He stands in a domestic garden as a scared-looking man and woman emerge from the house to witness the dramatic scene. Born in San Francisco to an Italian family, Cyrus Cuneo, 1879-1916, was determined from an early age to be an artist. He travelled to Paris to study at Whistler's academy and from there moved to London where he soon found work. His reputation as an illustrator flourished and by the age of 30 he was chosen by the Illustrated London News to depict the 'epoch-making events' of the early nineteenth century: King Edward VII's funeral and the Coronation of George V. He joined and became chairman of the prestigious Langham Sketching Club of which Rackham and Munnings were members and preceded by the likes of Tenniel and Keene. A prolific illustrator of popular novels, Cuneo's burgeoning career was tragically cut short at the age of 36 when he died of blood poisoning, contracted by an accidental pin prick at a dance. His son, Terrence Cuneo, 1907-1996, was an English painter known for his railway and military scenes; following in his father's footsteps he was the official artist at Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation. PLEASE NOTE: For customers within the UK this item is subject to VAT.