Lewis Jesse Bridgman

Lewis Jesse Bridgman (1857-1931) was a Massachusetts engraver and illustrator who specialized in illustrating children's books.

L. J. Bridgman is one of the better known artists to have illustrated a book by Evaleen Stein. He had previously illustrated books by more prominent authors, notably Rudyard Kipling and Emilie Poulsson. More infamously, he had copied Sir John Tenniel's famous drawings for pirated editions of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass published by Thomas Crowell in New York in the 1890s. In the early years of the twentieth century, Bridgman developed a distinctive line in illustrated books of humorous verse for children.

L. J. Bridgman worked most often for the Caldwell Company and for Lothrop, Lee and Shepard in Boston. However, he also illustrated books published by the Page Company, notably several volumes by Mary Hazelton Wade in the "Little Cousin" series. Unusually, some of these books are set outside of the Western hemisphere.

Bridgman was a gifted and versatile illustrator, skilled in the lively depiction of a wide array of subjects and adept in a variety of styles ranging from the naturalistic to the more fantastical. He supplied numerous illustrations for Evaleen Stein's Rosechen and the Wicked Magpie, most of which serve as chapter headers and footers.

View more books illustrated by L. J. Bridgman:

Please note that some of these works contain language that is harmful to a modern audience.

Bridgman, L. J. Bridgman's Kewts. New York and Boston: H. M. Caldwell Company, 1902. Courtesy of HathiTrust.

Bridgman, L. J. Jest-nuts. New York and Boston: H. M. Caldwell Company, 1903. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.

Bridgman, L. J. Mother Wild Goose and Her Wild Beast Show. New York and Boston: H. M. Caldwell Company, 1900. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.

Bridgman, L. J. The Santa Claus Club. New York and Boston: H. M. Caldwell Company, 1907. Courtesy of HathiTrust.

Carroll, Lewis. Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. New York: Crowell & Co., 1893. Courtesy of HathiTrust.

Kipling, Rudyard. The Phantom Rickshaw. New York and Boston: H. M. Caldwell Company, 1899. Courtesy of HathiTrust.

Kipling, Rudyard. The Story of the Gadsbys. New York and Boston: H. M. Caldwell Company, 1899. Courtesy of HathiTrust.

Poulsson, Emilie. Finger Plays for Nursery and Kindergarten. Boston: D. Lothrop Company, 1889. Courtesy of HathiTrust.

Poulsson, Emilie. Through the Farmyard Gate: Rhymes and Stories for Little Children at Home and in Kindergarten. Boston: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Co., 1924. Courtesy of HathiTrust.

Wade, Mary Hazelton. Chin, Our Little Siamese Cousin. Boston: L. C. Page & Company, 1903. Courtesy of HathiTrust.