Oliver Brooke Herford was born in Sheffield, England on December 2, 1860 (not 1863, as is widely stated) to Rev. Brooke Herford and Hannah Hankinson Herford. Oliver's father, Brooke, was a Unitarian minister who moved the family to Chicago, IL in 1876 and to Boston, MA in 1882. Oliver attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, OH from 1877 to 1879. Later he studied art at the Slade School in London and the Academie Julien in Paris. Afterward, he moved to New York, where he lived until his death. Herford's cartoons and humorous verse appeared in journals such as Life, Woman's Home Companion, Century Magazine, Harper's Weekly, The Masses and Punch. Over 30 books illustrated by Herford, and frequently written by him as well, were published from the 1890s to the 1930s. He also wrote plays and was known for his humorous and pithy bon mots. Herford was a longtime member of the Player's Club in New York City. He married Margaret Regan in New York on May 26, 1904. Herford died on July 5, 1935 and his wife died the following December.
From the guide to the Oliver Herford Collection, 1886-1966, 1886-1966, (The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum)
