JOHN LEECH
English illustrator (1817-1864)
Biography:
John Leech was born in London in 1817. He was the son of a wine merchant. At school he was Thackeray's schoolmate and later he met the writers Albert Smith and Percival Leigh, for whom he was to illustrate some books. Indeed, he left his medicine studies unfinished and began studying drawing on wood and caricature. In 1841, at the age of 24, he published his first illustration in Punch. His work has left us more than 3000 illustrations.
Works illustrated by John Leech:
Harriet Beecher-Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Bogue, 1852.
Charles Dickens, Christmas Carol, Chapman, 1843.