Dion Clayton Calthrop

Born in 1878, Dion Clayton Calthrop built an unusually varied creative career as an author, illustrator, playwright, and artist. He studied art at St John's Wood and later in Paris, and early in the 1900s he exhibited at the Royal Academy. He also became associated with The Idler, adding publishing work to an already wide mix of interests.

Calthrop wrote humorous stories, plays, and nonfiction, and he often brought an artist's eye to his books. He published on subjects as different as costume history and sport fishing, and some of his stage works were produced in both London and New York. In 1935 he brought out an autobiography, My Own Trumpet, a fitting title for someone with such a colorful range of pursuits.

During the First World War he served as a volunteer officer in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. He died in 1937, leaving behind a body of work that reflects both literary charm and visual imagination.