Florence S. Hornblower

Florence S. Hornblower, identified by the V&A as Florence Sibun Hornblower (1872–1961), was an English artist, craftswoman, and illustrator connected with the Arts and Crafts movement. She studied at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, where her leatherwork and design work won national prizes in the early 1900s.

The V&A notes that she created decorative objects in several media and was teaching leatherwork at Camberwell by 1905. That background helps explain the strong visual character of her best-known book work: she was not only interested in historical costume, but trained in making and designing objects by hand.

Hornblower is best known to readers as the co-author, with Mary G. Houston, of Ancient Egyptian, Assyrian, and Persian Costumes and Decorations (published in 1920). Contemporary library and public-domain records credit the book to both women, and the V&A states that Hornblower provided its illustrations, making her contribution both scholarly and artistic.