Figure 1.--'William the Dictator' as suggested by the title and illustrtion was published in 1938, right before World War II began. It was of course illustrated by Henry Thomas Fisher. Obviouly it was a parody of Adolf Hitler and the NAZIs. This was before the full extent of NAZI evil was fully known. I think Fisher would have drawn it differntly after the War.

One of the many charming aspects of the William books is that they are wonderfully illustrated. The original William books were profusely and beautifully illustrated by Thomas Henry Fisher, although they are usually signed Thomas Henry. Fisher was born at Nottingham in 1879. He had a perfect grasp of the hero's character and foibles. The illustrations also contain a great deal of period information about boys' clothing. Fisher was selected by the publisher Newnes to illustrate the William books. He succedded in creating the perfect visual immage drawn by Crompton in her books. Interestingly, Fisher and the author did not meet until 1958 and it is not clear if they even corresonded before that. If so, the correspondence is now lost. Some of the later William books were illustrated by Henry Ford, who endevored to portray William in much the same way as Fisher. Several of the reprinted books had new covers by Gerry Haylock. Haylock portrays William as a somewhat more orderly boy and updates the clothing--William and his mates even wear jeans. The idea of course is to update him and make him more "relevant" to the modern generation. Here we wonder. Would a modern British boy be more likely to buy a William boy if William was dressed in the traditional style or the clothing styles of the modern generation. We do not know the answer to this, but do wonder.

First Illustrators

William is strongly assocaited with Thomas Henry Fisher. In fact, Fisher was not the first illustrator assifned the William stories.

Louis Hocknell

Richmal Crompton first published a William story under the name "Ricemould" in Home Magazine right after World War I in 1919. The first illustrator was Louis Hocknell. Both the author and the editor, however, were not satisfied with these first illustrations. They were technically fine, but they did not pick up the essence of the charmingly naughty schoolboy that Crimpton described in her story. [Cadogan]

Thomas Henry Fisher

The publisher began a search for a suiyable illustrator. They requested sample drawings from interested illustraors on the character descriptions provided by the author. Finally Fisher was selected. It began one of the longest author-illustraor collaborations in British literary history. [Cadogan] The William books were for over 40 years profusely and beautifully illustrated by Thomas Henry Fisher, although they are usually signed Thomas Henry. Interestingly, Fisher like the author dropped his last name in a half haerted attempt to protect his actual identity as a young illustrator. He was concerned that these freelance cartoons might be looked down on by a "possessive employer". Richmal Crompton did the same. Her chief concern was that her teaching career might be advrsely affected by stuffy school authorities. [Cadogan] Of course they are today chiefly remembered by their work on William. Fisher was born at Nottingham in 1879. He had a perfect grasp of the hero's character and foibles. The illustrations also contain a great deal of period information about boys' clothing. Fisher was selected by the publisher Newnes to illustrate the William books. He succedded in creating the perfect visual immage drawn by Crompton in her books. Interestingly, the Fisher and the author did not meet until 1958 and it is not clear if they even corresonded before that. If so, the correspondence is now lost. The two met during a luncheon at the Nottingham Book Festival in 1958. After nearly 40 years of collaboration, they must hace had a great deal to discuss. Richmal Crompton authored 38 William books. Fisher had illustrated 33 of those books. Fisher died in 1962 at the 83 years of age.

Later Illustrators

Since the initial publications, 'William' has been republished many times and most of the publications have retained the original illustrations of Thomas Henry. However in the more recent publications, different illustrators have redone covers to keep it contemporary with the current generation of children whilst other illustrators have endevoured to keep to the original brief in their own style.

Henry Ford

When Fisher died, Henry Ford was given the job of illustraying the last William books. He endevored to portray William in much the same way as Fisher.

Figure 2.--This paperback cover of 'William - in Trouble' was illustrated by Gerry Haylock. The clothes look more modern, but William wears the traditional English school boy outfit.

Gerry Haylock

Several of the reprinted books had new covers by Gerry Haylock. Haylock portrays William as a somewhat more orderly boy and updates the clothing. Some of William's mates appear in Jeans--but not William himself. Somehow I don't particularly like the Haylock drawings. I don't think he captures William's face vet well. He almost looks like an adult. Many characters wear very modern clothing and the classrooms and back grounds are all updated. Hair styles are also updated. In the paperback cover of William - in Trouble, Haylock despite the modern surrondings has faithfully interpreted William in a traditioinal school boy outfit. He has changed William, however, he looks mor like Jennings, dressed in the quintessential and most identifiable preparatory British school uniform. William of coure went to a state school. Some HBC readers are more impressed with the Haylock illustrations. A HBC reader writes, "I went to a exhibition of Just William material at the Museum of Childhood in London a few years ago. There were some originals of the later book covers by Gerry Haylock on display and they were beautiful to behold: the artist is a real craftsman."

Others

Several other illustrators have provided quite a range of William images. We do not yet know the names of all these illustrators. In many cases they are not credited in the books. I am not sure why. Some of these modern illustrators have retained the traditional look. Others updated Williams clothing even more. In fact William and his mates even wear jeans. We note that a cover to William and the Moonrocket (19??) illustrated by ??, William has the traditional look. The cover to William's Bad Resolution' (1972) illustrated by ?? there is a break away from traditional look and William and the Outlaws are portrayed in contemporary casual wear which looks quite American with the red baseball cap, sneakers and being fashion conscious with the denim jeans and matching colour ankle socks rolled over.

Updating

Since the initial publications, 'William' has been republished many times iver several decades of the long press run. Most of the publications have retained the original illustrations of Thomas Henry. However in the more recent publications, different illustrators have redone covers to keep it contemporary with the current generation of children whilst other illustrators have endevoured to keep to the original brief in their own style. Often only the cover illustration has been changed providing an interesting contrast with modern and traditional styles. I believe some editions have changed the illustration in the test as well, but am not sure about this. The idea of course is to update him and make him more "relevant" to the modern generation. Here we wonder. Would a modern British boy be more likely to buy a William boy if William was dressed in the traditional style or the clothing styles of the modern generation. We do not know the answer to this, but do wonder.

Sources

Cadogan, Mary. The William Companion (1990).

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Created: March 8, 2003
Last updated: March 26, 2003