Rosa C. Petherick

Born in Addiscombe, Croydon, she was the eldest of the five surviving daughters of the artist Horace William Petherick (1839–1919) and his wife Clementina Augusta Bewley Petherick, née Bonny (1837-1909).Houfe speculated that Rosa might be Horace Petherick's daughter (p.413) and Peppin repeated the speculation (p.233) Rosa's elder brother Horace Claude (1867-1869) and elder sister Adeline Maude (1869-1872) both died in early childhood.{{ cite web |last=Kirkpatrick |first=Robert J. |author-link=Robert J. Kirkpatrick |title=Horace Petherick |website=Bear Alley |date=2019-02-10 |url=https://bearalley.blogspot.com/2019/02/horace-petherick.html |accessdate=2020-02-08 }}

The children who survived to adulthood were:

• Rosa Clementina (1872-1931),
• Ada Flora (1874-1924),
• Leila Helena (1876-1951),
• Eveline May (1880-1936),
• Dora Valentine (1881-1946).

All the children grew up in the family home at Maple Lodge, 25 Havelock Road, Addiscombe, Surrey, where their parents lived their whole married lives. Only one of the five girls ever married, the youngest, Dora (1881-1946). She married Albert H. Gilson, a violin and cello repairer, in Croydon in 1922.

Rosa was already an accomplished artist by 1892, when she painted her younger sister Dora slumped in a chair with a violin in her hand.{{ cite web |last=Bonny |title=Rosa Petherick |date=2017-04-08 |url=https://adnepos.wordpress.com/2017/04/08/rosa-petherick/ |accessdate=2020-02-08 }}

File:The_play_hour_by_Rosa_Petherick_Courtesy_of_Toronto_Public_Lib.jpgHer four sisters were talented musicians and played as the Petherick Quartet{{cite book|title=Musical News|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QVJCAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA527|accessdate=9 February 2020|volume=30|year=1906|page=527}} from about 1905 onwards. The Strad, the leading periodical of the time dealing with stringed instruments and their music, mentions the quartet five times from April 1905 to March 1908.{{cite book|title=The Strad, April 1905 to March 1908|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xuo2AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA394|volume=16-18|year=1905|publisher=Orpheus|pages=220, 232, 261}} The Violinist report that they played at the Mozart Society Concert on 15 January 1910.{{ cite journal |title=Fiddle Strings: London |journal=The Violinist |volume=VIII |issue=6 |pages=37 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433082166459&view=2up&seq=280 }} Although Rosa did not play in her sister's quartet she was also a musician. She played briefly in the Streatham Symphony Orchestra in 1920–21.{{ cite web |last=Creighton |first=Sean |title=The talented Pethericks and their family album |website=The Croydon Citizen |date=2017-02-27 |url=https://thecroydoncitizen.com/history/talented-pethericks-family-album |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928171525/https://thecroydoncitizen.com/history/talented-pethericks-family-album/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 September 2018 |access-date=2020-02-08 }}

Houfe notes that Rosa Petherick participated in design competitions in The Studio.{{ cite book |last=Houfe |first=Simon |title=Dictionary of British Book Illustrators and Caricaturists, 1800-1914 |chapter=Petherick, Rosa C. |pages=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofbrit00houf/page/413 413] |date=1978 |publisher=Antique Collectors' Club |location=Woodbridge |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofbrit00houf |url-access=registration |accessdate=2020-03-02 }} Rosa got honorable mentions for competitions in The Studio:

• in June 1896 for designing a private note-paper heading.{{ cite journal |title=Awards in "The Studio" Prize Competitions: (BXXXI) Design for Private Note-paper Heading |journal=The Studio |volume=VIII |issue=39 |pages=55 |date=June 1896 |url=https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/studio1896b/0070 |accessdate=2020-02-08 }}
• in August 1896 for a black and white drawing of Summer.{{ cite journal |title=Awards in "The Studio" Prize Competitions: (B XXXIII) Design in Black and White: Subject Summer |journal=The Studio |volume=VIII |issue=41 |pages=184 |date=August 1896 |url=https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/studio1896b/0201 |accessdate=2020-02-08 }}
• in November 1900 for an illustration for a Child's Story.{{ cite journal |title=Awards in "The Studio" Prize Competitions: (B LIII) Illustration for a Child's Story |journal=The Studio |volume=XXI |issue=92 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/studiointernatio20t22londuoft/page/147 147] |date=November 1900 |url=https://archive.org/details/studiointernatio20t22londuoft |accessdate=2020-02-09 }}

She also won honourable mentions for competitions in The International Studio in July 1897 for the following:

• Design for the title page of a Christmas Card{{ cite journal |title=Awards in "The International Studio" Prize Competitions: (A I Extra) Design for the title page of a Christmas Card |journal=The International Studio |volume=II |issue=5 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/internationalst01unkngoog/page/n78 68] |date= July 1897 |url=https://archive.org/details/internationalst01unkngoog |accessdate=2020-02-09 }}
• Illustration in pen and ink work for The Canterbury Tales{{ cite journal |title=Awards in "The International Studio" Prize Competitions: (B I) Illustration in pen and ink work for The Canterbury Tales |journal=The International Studio |volume=II |issue=5 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/internationalst01unkngoog/page/n78 68] |date= July 1897 |url=https://archive.org/details/internationalst01unkngoog |accessdate=2020-02-09 }}
• Study of a Female Head{{ cite journal |title=Awards in "The International Studio" Prize Competitions: (C I) Study of a female head |journal=The International Studio |volume=II |issue=5 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/internationalst01unkngoog/page/n78 68] |date= July 1897 |url=https://archive.org/details/internationalst01unkngoog |accessdate=2020-02-09 }}

File:H. W. Petherick by Rosa C. Petherick.jpgIn 1900, She drew the portrait of her father that he used as the frontispiece for his books on Antonio Stradivari{{ cite book |last=Petherick |first=Horace William |title=The Strad Library No. VIII: Antonio Stradivari |date=1900 |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36535 |accessdate=2020-02-08 }} and on Repairing and Restoring Violins.{{ cite book |last=Petherick |first=Horace William |title=The Strad Library No. XII: The Repairing & Restoration of Violins. |date=1903 |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26878 |accessdate=2020-02-08 }}

She contributed illustrations to numerous children's story books, annuals and periodicals, particularly those produced by Blackie and Son Limited.{{Cite web |url=http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpsubject/literature/chillit/petherick/petherick.html |title=Petherick, Rosa (1871-1931) |accessdate=25 February 2010 |publisher=The British Library }} According to her obituary in The Times, her etchings could be found in the National Portrait Gallery. Peppin states that although here work was pleasing in appearance it was somewhat bland and was characterised by uniformly heavy outlines.{{ cite book |last=Peppin |first=Bridget |last2=Micklethwait |first2=Lucy |title=Dictionary of British book illustrators : the twentieth century |chapter=Rosa C Petherick |pages=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofbrit00pepp/page/233 233] |date=1993 |publisher=Murray |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofbrit00pepp |url-access=registration |accessdate=2020-04-28 }}

The British Library Catalogue has 55 of her works listed. The Museum of Croydon has 48 of her works in the Croydon Art Collection. However, this is probably only part of her total output. AbeBooks listed over 60 different titles for sale on 9 February 2020 to which she had contributed. She specialised in paintings and drawings of children with their toys, and commonly shows the children at play with each other or with their toys. Most of her work was for very young children, but she did illustrate a few books, school stories mainly, for older children including:

• {{ cite book |last=Avery |first=Harold |author-link=Harold Avery |title=Sale's Sharpshooters: The historical Records of a Very Irregular Corps |date=1903 |publisher=Nelson

|location=London }}

• {{ cite book |last=Avery |first=Harold |author-link=Harold Avery |title=The House on the Moor - A School Tale |date=1906 |publisher=Nelson |location=London }}
• {{ cite book |last=Adams |first=Ellinor Lily Davenport |title=On Honour: A School and Home Story |date=1920 |publisher=Nelson |location=London }}
• {{ cite book |last1=Cowper |first1=E. E. |author1-link=E. E. Cowper |title=Celia Win |date=1921 |publisher=Collins |location=London }}
• {{ cite book |last=Oxenham |first=Elsie J. |author-link=Elsie J. Oxenham |title=The Abbey Girls in Town |date=1926 |publisher=Collins |location=London }}
• {{ cite book |last1=Cowper |first1=E. E. |author1-link=E. E. Cowper |title=Cross Winds Farm; or, the Adventure of the silver foxes |date=1927 |publisher=Chambers |location=London }}
• {{ cite book |last=Grant |first=Pamela |title=The Fortunes of Billy |date=1932 |publisher=Collins |location=London }}
• {{ cite book |last=Grant |first=Pamela |title=The Pranks of Doria |date=1933 |publisher=Sunshine Press |location=London }}

However, in some cases, the illustrations by her were limited to a single colour frontispiece, and in any case the few examples were vastly outnumbered by the books for much younger children, some of which has illustrations on almost every page.

There are 22 books illustrated by her in the Osborne and Lillian H. Smith Collections of children's books at the Toronto Public Library, of which six are available as public domain eBooks.{{ cite web |title=Search Page for books in Osborne Collection illustrated by Rosa C. Petherick |url=https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/search.jsp?N=&No=0&Ntt=Petherick%2C+Rosa+C. |accessdate=2020-02-09 }} Links for the six eBooks can be found in the external links below.

Rosa died in Brighton on 20 December 1931. Her second youngest sister, Eveline May, acted as her executor with a final estate of £1,530 18s 4d.

{{Reflist |group=note}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{FadedPage|id=Petherick, Rosa Clementine|name=Rosa Petherick|author=yes}}
• [https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/studio1896b/0206/image Drawing by Rosa C. Petherick that won an honorable mention in The Studio in 1896]
• [http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O147813/pussy-stirring-the-christmas-pudding-illustration-petherick-rosa-c/ Illustration by Rosa C. Petherick at the Victoria and Albert Museum: Pussy stirring the Christmas pudding (c. 1900)]
• [http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O146639/three-children-on-christmas-eve-illustration-petherick-rosa-c/ Illustration by Rosa C. Petherick at the Victoria and Albert Museum: Three children on Christmas Eve (c. 1900)]
• [https://iamachild.wordpress.com/2013/12/24/rosa-petherick-1871-1931-english/ 'I am a child: children in art history' An Italian blog with over two dozen of her illustrations showing children]
• [https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/osborne/ Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books]
• [https://static.torontopubliclibrary.ca/da/pdfs/37131062444708d.pdf Sand Castles (1901), 16p., with two signed illustrations by Rosa C. Petherick, - at the Osborne Collection and Lillian H. Smith Collections of Early Children's books at the Toronto Public Library.]
• [https://static.torontopubliclibrary.ca/da/pdfs/37131054888094d.pdf Playtime pictures: for little bright eyes (1905) 82pp, one colour plate and two line drawings signed by Rosa C. Petherick, - at the Osborne Collection and Lillian H. Smith Collections of Early Children's books at the Toronto Public Library.]
• [https://static.torontopubliclibrary.ca/da/pdfs/37131062441779d.pdf First steps : a picture reading book for little folks (1908), Marsh, Mabel A., 84p., illustrated by Rosa C. Petherick and others, - at the Osborne Collection and Lillian H. Smith Collections of Early Children's books at the Toronto Public Library.]
• [https://static.torontopubliclibrary.ca/da/pdfs/37131048634166d.pdf The Toy Bearkins' Christmas tree (1908) 58+p. (some missing), illustrated by Rosa C. Petherwick - at the Osborne Collection and Lillian H. Smith Collections of Early Children's books at the Toronto Public Library.]
• [https://static.torontopubliclibrary.ca/da/pdfs/37131062387428d.pdf Teddy Bear Tales (1910) 11p. - one two-page spread by Rosa C. Petherick - at the Osborne Collection and Lillian H. Smith Collections of Early Children's books at the Toronto Public Library.]
• [https://static.torontopubliclibrary.ca/da/pdfs/37131062531223d.pdf Teddy Bear's Travels (1910), Byron, May Clarissa Gillington, 52p., illustrated by Rosa C. Petherwick - at the Osborne Collection and Lillian H. Smith Collections of Early Children's books at the Toronto Public Library.]

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Category:People from Addiscombe

Category:1871 births

Category:1931 deaths

Category:British children's book illustrators

Category:British women children's book illustrators

Category:19th-century English women artists

Category:English watercolourists

Category:English women watercolourists

Category:20th-century English women artists