Superb PHIL MAY Original Ink Sketch Page Filled with Characters! Max Beerbohm? Circa 1902

Phil May (1865-1903) was one of the greatest British cartoonists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, noted for the economy of line in his work, as well as its content. May was an early recorder of the poorer class, frequently men, women and street urchins, or “Gutter Snipes” (for the latter), as his seminal book was titled. While May died at a young age, the impact of his work was felt for years to come, as artists such as Billy DeBeck incorporated May’s use of flat pen tone in their work. DeBeck also had a young Fred Lasswell study and copy May’s work, in preparation for his own drawing on Barney Google. Phil May worked for many publications, including Australia's the Bulletin as well as England's the Graphic and of course, Punch. May was an artist who continually sketched, looking to capture the liveliness of his subject matter in his finished works. I’m quite pleased to offer up one of May’s sketch pages, capturing 15 different figures (both human and animal). May frequented drinking establishments and enjoyed sketching all types of people, which you can see in this 7”x 9” piece. You can see how effortlessly May was able to capture the figures with no pencil under-drawing. The piece is circa 1902, and while I cannot confirm it, I believe the man no the right marked as Max may be Max Beerbohm, the writer and caricaturist who was a contemporary of May’s. As an added bonus, this piece came from the collection of Art Wood, who added a boldly written note on a large envelope, which will be included with the artwork. Wonderful and uncommon stuff. $225.00 + 13.00 shipping.