Cartoonists
Hertford Museum has a diverse collection of Cartoonist art.
The Mistake
Starr Wood (1870 – 1944)
Pen and ink on paper
HETFM:2647.8
“I’ve got the sack for a mistake I didn’t make, my boss wanted me to make one but I wouldn’t!” Starr Wood lived with his family at 15 West Street, Hertford, from 1908. Despite being colour blind and having no formal training, Wood was determined to become a comic illustrator. By 1898, he had become a regular contributor to Punch magazine.
House Famine
James Thorpe – “Quiz” (1876 – 1949)
Pen and ink on card
HETFM:2915.1
James Thorpe came to Hertford, following his friend Starr Wood, and lived in Market Place from 1908-1915, working as an illustrator for the Hertfordshire Mercury, under the pseudonym Quiz. His work often satirised local and national government and political figures and was published in Punch from 1908-1938.
Vote for the Four!! The Whole Hog or None.
Sydney Harrington (1859-1946)
Watercolour and pencil on paper, 1885
HETFM:2913.1
Harrington, in addition to running the family malting business, was a talented amateur cartoonist. This drawing depicts the 1885 Hertford Municipal Election in which there were four seats to be filled. The Liberal slogan was ‘The whole hog’ and here the Liberal candidates, William Burgess, George Garratt, James Haddon and John Harrington (Sydney’s father) are depicted riding a hog into the Shire Hall.
The Major
Alfred Nicholls (1868-1924)
Watercolour and pencil on paper, late 19th century
HETFM:2740.2
Portrait of Osmond H. McMullen in his Harts Militia uniform. McMullen ran the family brewery, served on the Corporation council and donated several works to the town, including the castle gates on The Wash. The artist Alfred Nicholls was also part of a local brewing dynasty, Nicholls Brewery on West Street. Nicholls was a close friend of both James Thorpe and Starr Wood.