"Humpty Dumpty"―Page Design

Paul Vincent Woodroffe|Joseph Samuel Moorat

October 6, 1906 · Pen and black ink, watercolor and graphite · Drawings and Prints

This design was made for a 1912 publication containing music by Joseph Moorat and illustrations by his brother-in-law Paul Woodroffe. After studies at the Slade School, the latter joined the Art Workers' Guild, then became part of the circle of Charles Robert Ashbee, whose Guild of Handicraft and Essex House Press had moved to Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire from London in 1902. Moorat already lived in nearby Westington and, when Woodroffe bought an adjacent cottage in 1904, Ashbee supervised the renovations. Working at the heart of the Arts and Crafts community, and aware of predecessors and contemporaries, Woodroffe here represents Humpty Dumpty as an oriental prince with a jeweled turban and hookah, blowing smoke rings from the latter.

Artist

Paul Vincent Woodroffe|Joseph Samuel Moorat

Date

October 6, 1906

Medium

Pen and black ink, watercolor and graphite

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Bryan Holme, 1984