THOMAS GIBSON BOWLES (TOMMY),
Founder of "Vanity Fair."
1905
COLONEL HALL WALKER.
1906.
COLONEL FRED. BURNABY.
1876.
Becoming a permanent member of the staff of Vanity Fair and my dream more than realized, I turned my attention to caricature whole-heartedly and with infinite pleasure.
On the publication of my first drawing, Pellegrini called upon Gibson Bowles (rather suddenly, considering his previous indifference and silence), to tell him in flattering terms what he thought of the caricature, and to inquire into the identity of the artist. I in my turn received the following letter from Mr. Arthur Lewis.
Thorpe Lodge,
March, 1873.
My dear Leslie Ward,
I've just got my last week's Vanity Fair. I presume the admirable cartoon of Professor Owen is yours, as you said you'd some idea of doing him for a trial of your skill. I cannot refrain from sending you my congratulations on so successful a commencement. Without flattering, I can tell you that I think it almost (if at all) without exception the best of the whole series. I hope we may have many more of such quaint yet kindly caricatures from your pencil.
Believe me,
Sincerely yours,
Arthur Lewis.
I was extremely pleased to receive this flattering letter and encouragement from a man whom I admired; whose opinions, as those of an amateur artist of undoubted ability, were worth considering; and who was entirely in sympathy with my choice of a career. Mr. Arthur Lewis knew everybody in literary and artistic circles; at his house in Campden Hill all the most delightful artists and artistes of the day came to amuse and be amused. There, in the garden, where one might imagine oneself miles away from London, Mrs. Arthur Lewis (Kate Terry of former years) entertained, and, in the summer time, gave charming garden parties.