In 1877 Mr. Caldecott was commissioned by Edmund Evans to illustrate two Christmas books (The House that Jack Built and The Diverting History of John Gilpin).
The two Christmas books were so successful that Evans commissioned the artist for two books every year until Mr. Caldecott’s death.
The original colored printing woodblocks can be seen at St. Bride Library in London.
Suffering all his life from poor health, probably from a child hood illness, he used to travel to warm climates during the winter.
Caldecott passed away before he was 40 years old in Florida, during an unusually cold winter.
The Caldecott Medal for the “most distinguished American picture book for children” is named in his honor.
Zohar – Man of la Book
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Fun Facts Friday: Randolph Caldecott
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Randolph Caldecott (22 March, 1846 – 12 February, 1886) was an artist and illustrator, mainly of children’s books, from England.
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Man of la Book
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Man of la Book - A Bookish Blog
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Man of la Book
A father, husband, avid reader, blogger, software engineer & wood worker who is known the world over as a man of many interests and to his wife as “an idiot”.