Salomon van Abbé

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Salomon van Abbé (born Amsterdam, 31 July 1883, died London, 28 February 1955), an artist, etcher and illustrator of books and magazines.

He was born in the Netherlands but moved with his family to England when he was 5 years old and became a naturalised citizen. He added the accent to become van Abbé. He studied at London County Council Schools, the People’s Palace, Toynbee Hall, Central School of Art and at the LCC School of Lithography and Photoengraving at Bolt Court where he met Edmund Blampied, Robert Charles Peter and John "Jock" Nicolson, all fellow etchers.

He was elected an Associate of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers (A.R.E) in 1923 and was a member of the Royal Society of British Artists (R.B.A.). He was a President of the London Sketch Club and a member of the Art Workers Guild. He was awarded a bronze medal at the Paris salon in 1939.

Salomon van Abbé was noted for his drypoints of the legal profession and the law. He signed much of his early commercial work as an illustrator “Abbey” or “S.Abbey”, to distinguish himself from his brother Joseph van Abbé, who signed himself “J. Abbey”. Salomon van Abbé also used the pseudonym ‘C. Morse’ because of problems with publishers. He designed the dust jackets of many notable books published in the 1920s and ‘30s, including the first “Saint” book by Leslie Charteris called ‘’Meet the Tiger’’ (Ward Lock, 1928). In the 1950s he illustrated children’s books for Dent including ‘’Treasure Island’’, ‘’Tanglewood Tales’’, Little Women" and "Good Wives". He was brother-in-law to the Jersey artist Edmund Blampied.

[edit] Bibliography

Bender, J.H. (1939). The drypoints of S. Van Abbé. Print Collector’s Quarterly 26 (3): 292 – 309.

[edit] Notable books illustrated by Salomon van Abbé

All published in the UK unless otherwise noted.

Kent, William (1947) My Lord Mayor and the City of London. London: Herbert Jenkins.

Galsworthy, John. (1930) Loyalties. London: Duckworth

Oman, Carola, (1949) "Robin Hood". London J.M. Dent & Sons