Sidney H. Sime. Original artwork. 1896

Sidney H. Sime, original published artwork, 1896

This is a wonderful opportunity to acquire a piece of original artwork from one of the greatest fantasy artists.

The piece was published in the February 1986 edition of The Idler (it was his first contribution to that magazine) and is titled “The Doctors Remorse”. It depicts a freshly deceased doctor surrounded by the shades of those patients who have died under his knife.

In common with his other illustrations of the period it measures 50cms by 35cms (but was reduced to 16.5 by 11.5 in reproduction) and was produced on Bristol board and drawn using a combination of charcoal, ink and lampblack. There is some loss to the edge of the image (see the scans) and some light foxing but all in all for a piece that is over 110 years old, it is excellent condition. It is also unframed. I will also include the bound volume of the Idler magazine if required (it is very heavy and will add to the shipping costs) which in itself is very scarce.

It is rare to find Sime originals for sale, even rarer to find published pieces. Virtually all of the illustrations produced for his collaboration with Lord Dunsany are at Dunsany Castle, with the vast majority of the remaining work housed at the Worplesdon Gallery in Surrey.

I acquired this piece some years ago from George Locke, the science fiction bibliographer, owner of Ferret Fantasy and editor of three books on Sime’s work and whilst I have been fortunate enough to own some small sketches, I have never come across another one of this size and importance.

I will discuss shipping with the successful bidder but intend to use solids boards and make it very secure. It must also be shipped insured. Any questions please contact me with enough time ahead of the end of the auction.

About Sidney H. Sime

Sidney Sime was born in poverty in Manchester, England in 1867. Initially, his parents sent him down the mines to work as a ‘scoop pusher’. From this unpromising start he progressed to the Liverpool School of Art, and from thence to London, where he quickly made a name for himself as a magazine illustrator. His first series of Drawings - for Pick-Me-Up magazine - was collectively titled 'The Shades', and consisted of humorous sketches of life in the next world. This mixture of the humorous and bizarre was to be typical of Sime's output.

London at the turn of the century was experiencing the golden age of the popular magazine,and many illustrators were household names. The elite of this small band, however, were those who made the breakthrough into book illustration - men like Rackham and Dulac. Sime was to have one outstanding success in this field- his artistic partnership with Lord Dunsany.

Dunsany, an eccentric Irish peer, wrote fantasy in a vein entirely his own.Sime, another eccentric, was the ideal illustrator for these strange, yet often beautiful stories. In the opinion of many, he never surpassed this work.Towards the end of his life he became increasingly reclusive, and the man who had once loved the night life and theatres of 'nineties London spent most of his time in his cottage in Worplesden, Surrey.He died in 1941.

Sidney Sime – Illustrator of Fantasy http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~fadey/sime.html