Thomas Crane and Ellen Houghton: London Town

Thomas Crane (1843–1903) was an English illustrator and art director at Marcus Ward & Co. known for his colourful children's books and decorative greeting cards which often incorporated floral motifs.
Elizabeth Ellen Houghton was born in 1853 and died in 1922. Her favorite media were watercolors and pencil. Apart from illustrations and paintings, Ellen E. Houghton, as she was often signed, was known by her work on advertising posters.
London Town, this  Victorian book of children’s poetry, presents a bright and cheery view of London at the height of its imperial glory. Felix Leigh, who wrote the verses, was a prolific writer whose drawings and poems were featured for many years in the magazine Boy’s Own Paper. The illustrations are by Thomas Crane and Ellen E. Houghton. Crane designed the ornamental pages and Houghton did the figure drawings. Thomas Crane was the older brother of Walter Crane (1845-1915), who brought about revolutionary improvements in illustrated children’s books by ensuring that text and illustrations were designed together to produce a harmonious whole. Ellen Houghton was a first cousin of the Cranes.