C1907

The Shakespeare Society of New South Wales

Artist:

David Henry Souter (1862 - 1935)

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S/N: BP-SOUT-001–231368

(DRW01)

Categories: BOOK PLATES, EPHEMERA

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Details

Full Title:

The Shakespeare Society of New South Wales

Date:

C1907

Artist:

David Henry Souter (1862 - 1935)

Condition:

In good condition.

Technique:

Wood engraving

Image Size:

72mm

x 198mm

Paper Size:

98mm

x 139mm

Genuine antique
dated:

1907

Description:

Australian bookplate by David Henry Souter for the New South Wales Shakespeare Society, with hand written No; 170,. The society was formed in 1900. Female figure holding a shield with armorial “Non sanz droict”, flanked by two theatrical masks.

In the following institutional collection:
New South Wales State Library: Reference code: 1293166

Artist:

David Henry Souter (1862-1935)

Souter was an artist and journalist born on 30 March 1862 at Aberdeen, Scotland. Apprenticed at 12 to a house-painter and signwriter, he acquired a good grounding in drawing at the local art school under instructors from London and earned five shillings each for anatomical illustrations.

He came to Melbourne in 1886, but settled in Sydney. David worked for the printer John Sands for ten years before joining William Brooks & Co. Ltd as an illustrator. Active on the council of the (Royal) Art Society of New South Wales, in 1888 Souter established its Brush Club for members under 26. In 1895 Souter was a founder and council-member of the breakaway Society of Artists, Sydney, and was president (1901-02) when it re-united with the Royal Art Society. After the societies split in 1907, he returned to the Society of Artists with whom he exhibited his water-colours in 1907. In the 1880s Souter drew cartoons for the weekly Tribune and News of the Week. For forty years from 1895 he had at least one cartoon published in every edition of the Bulletin and had the distinction of naming his own modest price for a drawing.

His graceful penwork showed the early influence of Art Nouveau, a style sinuous and flowing. He was among the first to draw Australian posters and, with Norman Lindsay, to design bookplates. In September 1907 Souter’s operetta, The Grey Kimona (1902), was staged in Adelaide by Clyde Meynell and John Gunn. Involved with Alfred Hill’s Sydney Repertory Theatre Society, Souter produced two plays in 1914 and wrote librettos for light operas including Hill’s Rajah of Shivapore.

A short, thickset and immensely humorous man who never lost his Scottish burr, Souter included Jack Brereton among his many friends. Survived by three daughters and two sons, Souter died at his Bondi home on 22 September 1935.