Background
Holme, John Francis was born on June 29, 1868 in Corinth, West Virginia, United States. Son of John Messenger and Eliza Holme.
Holme, John Francis was born on June 29, 1868 in Corinth, West Virginia, United States. Son of John Messenger and Eliza Holme.
Educated public schools, Keyser, West Virginia.
He is best known for his news illustrations, beginning with his work for the Pittsburgh Press when he covered the 1889 Johnstown flood. He made a name for himself as the illustrator at the Chicago Post, the Chicago Chronicle and the Chicago Daily News in part because of the speed at which he completed illustrations at the scene of news events. He founded the School of Illustration in Chicago which trained journalists to represent current events through chalk-plate, pen-and-ink and greased crayon illustrations.
His illustrations were displayed in three different exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Holme created the Banar Log Press in 1895, which published books such as Just Foreign Fun, Swanson, Able Seaman, and Strenuous Lad’s Library. He died in Denver of tuberculosis in 1904.
Married Ida Van Dyke, May 10, 1893.