Biography:

Frank Bellew was an illustrator and caricaturist who has been credited with the first graphic representation of "Uncle Sam" in the March 13, 1852, issue of the New York Lantern. Born to an Irish captain and his British wife in India, Frank was educated in France, lived in England and Scotland, and migrated to the United States in about 1850, where he settled in New York City and became involved with the Lantern and other comic papers. His cartoons were often signed with his trademark triangle, which often contained the initials "F.B.," but sometimes contained his last name or was left blank entirely. Many of his cartoons were in the style of the British magazine Puck, where he published a few cartoons in 1860 during a return visit to England. Bellew’s cartoons appeared in Harper’s Weekly, Scribner’s Monthly, and Harper’s Monthly, among other papers. He also illustrated a number of books, including, in 1866, The Art of Amusing, an illustrated volume on parlor games. Bellew had two children: a son, Frank, who was also an illustrator; and a daughter. He died on June 29, 1888, at his daughter’s home in New York.