A Primrose Dame [Justice Rogers]

Biography:

Philip William May (1864-1903) 

Phil May was an English caricaturist who played an important role in moving away from the Victorian styles of illustration and created a modern humorous cartoon.

He was fond of drawing and when only fourteen years old had drawings accepted for the Yorkshire Gossip. When he was about seventeen he went to London with a sovereign in his pocket. He suffered extreme want, sleeping out in the parks and streets, until he obtained employment as designer to a theatrical costumier. He also drew posters and cartoons, and for about two years worked for the St Stephens Review. He then met W. H. Traill, who was seeking new artists in England for the Sydney Bulletin. May accepted a contract for £20 a week and sailed with his wife in the Orient, reaching Sydney on 29 December.