'The Absent-Minded Beggar', 1899

Photogravure after Richard Caton Woodville (1856-1927). Published by Henry Graves and Company, London, 1900.

The artist Richard Caton Woodville produced this illustration to accompany Rudyard Kipling's famous poem 'The Absent minded beggar' which appeared in an 1899 'The Daily Mail' supplement. It was written to help raise money for the dependents of soldiers fighting in the Boer War (1899-1902). The fund, known as the 'Absent Minded Beggar Relief Corps', eventually raised about £250,000.