Background
Philip May was born on April 22, 1864, at Wortley, England, the second son of Philip May, brassfounder, and his wife Sarah Jane (née Macarthy).
(Excerpt from Phil May's ABC: Fifty-Two Original Designs F...)
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Philip May was born on April 22, 1864, at Wortley, England, the second son of Philip May, brassfounder, and his wife Sarah Jane (née Macarthy).
May was educated in Leeds at St George's School in 1872-1875, the Oxford Lane School in 1876-1877 and the Park Lane Board School in 1877.
At 13 he was forced by his father's reduced finances to work in a solicitor's office which he soon found uncongenial. He also worked for an estate agent, in a music store and as time-keeper in an ironfoundry. At 14 he was invited to do some drawings for the Yorkshire Gossip, a short-lived comic weekly, and later for the Yorkshire Busy Bee. In 1877 he joined a touring theatrical company managed by Fred Stimpson. His main duty was to provide six posters a week. He also had to play small parts and made his first professional appearance at the Spa Theatre, Scarborough. In 1883 he was again in Leeds designing costumes for the Christmas pantomime at the Grand Theatre.
He also drew posters and cartoons and for about two years worked for St. Stephen’s Review. After a period in Australia, where he worked for the Sydney Bulletin, he returned to London in 1892 and resumed his work for St. Stephen’s Review. May’s studies of the London "guttersnipe" and the coster girl rapidly made him famous. His overflowing sense of fun, his sympathy with his subjects, and his kindly wit were on a par with his artistic ability. The economy of line characteristic of his drawings was the result of a laborious process in which he made numerous preliminary sketches. His later work included some excellent political portraits. He became a member of the staff of Punch in 1896, and from then on his services were retained entirely for that magazine and for the Graphic.
In January 1903, May fell ill and died on August 5, 1903.
(Excerpt from Phil May's ABC: Fifty-Two Original Designs F...)
Philip William May was a founder member in 1898 of the London Sketch Club.
Philip William May was married to Lilian, widow of Charles Farrer. They did not have children.