William James Affleck Shepherd


William James Affleck Shepherd was an English illustrator and cartoonist, primarily known for his anthropomorphic animal drawings. He rarely used his first forename and consequently most of his works are simply signed J.A.S.

Life

Shepherd, the son of a cigar importer, was born on 29 November 1866 in Pimlico, London and died in Cirencester, Gloucestershire in 1946.He attended a number of public schools but received no formal art training. For three years he worked under the direction of Alfred Bryan on the Moonshine satirical magazine.In 1893 he joined the staff of Punch magazine. He also worked for The Strand magazine and the Illustrated London News as well as other magazines. He was a fellow of the Zoological Society and enjoyed the outdoor life. The importance of animals in his life is highlighted in this quote from him: "There are only two things I love in my life - my mother and my raven." This was prior to his marriage in 1897. Shepherd was the maternal grandfather of David Sheppard, the Bishop of Liverpool and Test cricketer.

Publications

in 1897 Shepherd produced the children's picture book "Zig Zag Fables" which the Disney animator Andreas Deja has cited as an influence. In 1926 "A Frolic around the Zoo" was published featuring the adventures of Blinx, a stray cat and Bunda, an escaped monkey. He illustrated many books and was a contributor to The Rosebud annuals which were renown for their illustrations by Louis Wain.