Publisher's Synopsis
George Cruikshank (1792-1878) was an English caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. Born in London, he was a member of the Cruikshank family of caricaturists and artists, the son of Scottish painter and caricaturist Isaac Cruikshank. Cruikshank's early career was renowned for his social caricatures of English life for popular publications such as The Comic Almanack (1835-1853) and Omnibus (1842) but later in his career, his book illustrations for Charles Dickens and many other authors reached an international audience. He created folios of prints with moralistic themes inspired by the temperance movement. The best known of these are The Bottle, 8 plates (1847), with its sequel, The Drunkard's Children, 8 plates (1848), with the ambitious work, The Worship of Bacchus, published by subscription after the artist's oil painting, now in the National Gallery, London. For Charles Dickens, Cruikshank illustrated Sketches by Boz (1836), The Mudfog Papers (1837-38) and Oliver Twist (1838). His works include: Sinks of London Laid Open (1848), Hop O' my Thumb (1853), Jack and the Beanstalk (1854), Cinderella (1854), Puss in Boots (1854) and George Cruikshank's Fairy Library (1870).
