HARRISON WEIR ( H W) was born on 5th May, 1824 in Lewes and died on 3rd January, 1906 in his residence, Poplar Hall, Appledore, Kent.
From a very early age he began drawing and it is recorded that at the age of five he was found making a sketch of poultry on a relative's farm in Pembury, Kent. From then on he continued and became the leading book illustrator in Victorian times, more prolific and equal in ability to Sir Edwin Landseer who was the favourite of Queen Victoria and who also specialized in animals and birds. Like Landseer, he was able to give a special meaning to his illustrations, showing that our dumb friends were intelligent and served a useful purpose in our lives and should not be ill treated. One of his main objectives in life was to display through his writing and drawings that humans had a duty to ensure that the animals' lives were as contented as possible. He was therefore a pioneer on Animal Welfare, but in a gentle manner, not the unreasonable attitude of some animal rights activists of today. His was the educationalist's approach.
Harrison Weir was appreciated as being outstanding, even famous, in his own lifetime, but, sadly, he is no longer known by the present generation, except for a few enthusiasts who cherish his book OUR POULTRY and All About Them, a massive work which was published in 1902/3, fully illustrated by himself in monochrome and colour. The paintings are magnificent and portray what the birds really looked like, thus placing on record a factual and pictorial representation of the breeds not exaggerated by show judges insisting on features which are not in the official poultry standards.
Continuing his interests he chose to be apprenticed to George Baxter the inventor of colour printing who also resided in Lewes. Like William Blake before him he became an expert engraver, thus teaming the essential skills required for painting animals and birds. In fact, he also painted in his spare time and had an oil painting 'The Wild Duck' exhibited at the British Institution when he was only nineteen. He also exhibited at the Royal Academy, although his phenomenal output over his lifetime was on book illustrations. The Zoological Gardens, London, also used him as an artist to portray the animals.
