Who was Randolph Caldecott?
Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886) transformed the world of children’s books in the Victorian era. Children eagerly awaited the two books illustrated by him, priced at a shilling each, which came out each Christmas for eight years. Randolph’s output, however, ranged wider than this: he illustrated novels and accounts of foreign travel; he made humorous drawings depicting hunting and fashionable life; he drew cartoons and he made sketches of the famous inside Parliament and out of it; he also exhibited sculptures and paintings in oil and watercolour in the Royal Academy and galleries. Randolph was born in Chester on 22 March 1846 at 150 Bridge Street (now No 16) where today there is a plaque to commemorate him. His father, John Caldecott, was a Chester business man and an accountant of some note who was married twice and had 13 children. Randolph was his third child by his first wife Mary Dinah (ne Brookes). In 1848 the family moved to Challoner House, Crook Street and in 1860 to 23 Richmon
