July 10, 1868

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a lot of the art of William Henry Bradley (July 10, 1868 to January 25, 1962) including this "Frontispiece Design for Peter Poodle, Toymaker to the King."





They date the illustration to 1906.  The medium: graphite, black ink, watercolor, and gouache. It was the  gift of Fern Bradley Dufner, in 1952. The MMA says that:

'Bradley, one of the great turn-of-the-century American creators of posters and books, wrote, illustrated, and designed the typeface for Peter Poodle Toy Maker to the King, one of his few forays into the field of children's books and one that was not a financial success. This highly stylized, symmetrical image was to be used as the book's frontispiece. The book tells the story of the toymaker Peter Poodle and two children, Tommy and Helen, in the magical town of Toyville. In this illustration, Tommy and Helen, having been crowned king and queen of the realm, enjoy a banquet of the best sweets and desserts they have ever tasted.'

Bradley is credited with popularizing the two dimensional poster format in the U.S.