Alfred Crowquill

Known to many readers as Alfred Crowquill, Alfred Henry Forrester was an English author, illustrator, comics artist, and painter born in London on 10 September 1804. He wrote and drew with the same playful energy, which made his work especially memorable in an era when illustrated books and magazines were rapidly growing in popularity.

He contributed to major periodicals including Punch and the Illustrated London News, and he often illustrated his own writing. That mix of words and pictures gave his work a distinctive charm, especially in comic pieces and books for younger readers.

Forrester died on 26 May 1872. Today he is remembered not only as a Victorian man of letters, but also as an early figure in the history of comics and illustrated humor.