Object of the Day, Museum Edition: An Illustration by Cecil Aldin, 1900

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Cecil Aldin, 1900
Rudge and Whitworth Cycles
The Victoria & Albert Museum

I’ve shared with you several of the Cecil Aldin drawings in my own collection. Aldin was a celebrated illustrator in the early Twentieth Century, particularly known for his sporting and animal drawings. However, like most artists, he did work as a commercial designer and produced several successful advertising campaigns.

This one, in the Victoria & Albert Museum, is an advertisement for Rudge and Whitworth Cycles and dates to 1900. This is a slight departure from Aldin’s usual style, but is equally as attractive as his usual work, if not a little bolder and brighter.

Object of the Day: A Drawing by Cecil Aldin, 1912

British artist and illustrator Cecil Aldin became known for his drawings of sporting life, especially his beautifully and fluid illustrations of dogs. An avid fan of dogs, Aldin particularly enjoyed drawing his canine friends.


Aldin illustrated many famous tomes from Kipling’s The Jungle Book to Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers, but is most celebrated for his personal stories of dogs and their adventures. Among these is Mac, the story of a curious West Highland White Terrier.

This illustration is one of a collection from the 1912 book, Mac. Here, above Aldin’s signature, we see Mac up to his usual mischief. Of course, I find myself drawn to these illustrations because of their similarity to my Bertie. However, in their own right, they are wonderful representations of the true nature of all terriers.

Object of the Day: A Drawing by Cecil Aldin, 1912

Another page from the illustrated book, Mac, by Cecil Aldin, this drawing shows Aldin’s terrier hero resting after a day of Scottish mischief.

Aldin was celebrated as one of the early Twentieth Century’s foremost artists of sporting themes. His light, loose style perfectly captured the spirit of his subjects. Here, he’s accurately rendered Mac while using few lines and relying on light and shadow to create a fully formed figure.

Having firsthand experience with the vision of a napping Westie, I have to say that this simple drawing is an effortless image of the subject.

Original copies of the book in its entirety can still be found. A recent reprinting of the book also is available—allowing new generations to enjoy Mac’s antics.

Object of the Day: “Mac,” by Cecil Aldin, 1912 (Reposted from Thursday, May 12, 2011)

Several years ago, when my Bertie came to live here with me, I purchased a series of loose pages which had been extracted from an antique book. I wasn’t sure what they were, but they featured beautiful drawings of a West Highland White Terrier in the style of Herbert Dicksee. I wasn’t sure who had drawn the images or who had written the book—or even what the book was. But, I loved the images and framed them to hang around the room where Bertie keeps his toys and dishes.


A little terrier-like investigation revealed that the pages were from an 1912 book called Mac with images and text by Cecil Aldin. Published in England, the book is written in Scottish dialect and follows the adventures of “Mac,” a Westie and his other canine friends.

Aldin, a contemporary of Dicksee who drew images of Caesar for the King Edward VII book “Where’s Master?”, was born in Berkshire in 1870—the son of a Kensington home builder. He studied under the well-known illustrators John Leech and Randolph Caldecott and became a member of the Royal Society of British Artists in 1898.

These charming illustrations capture the true spirit of a Westie—curious, stubborn, playful and bright. I appreciate these pictures because they remind me of Bertie. This is one of my favorites. One of Bertie’s games is to steal my shoes—sometimes right off of my feet—and hide them. Shoes, to Bertie, represent the act of my leaving, so they are his natural enemy. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve caught him in this very pose.