Page:Dictionary of National Biography, Second Supplement, volume 1.djvu/427

 Enemies’ (1896), a semi-political story. In 1897 he first proved his strength in ‘Mr. Blake of Newmarket’ (new edit. 1904), an excellent sporting novel, and in ‘The Marchioness against the County,’ a social satire.

Through life Cooper delighted in the companionship of children, whose psychology he carefully studied. He aided Benjamin Waugh [q. v. Suppl. II], the philanthropist, in practical efforts to protect children from cruelty or corruption. In 1899 he began a series of imaginative stories for children with ‘Wyemark and the Sea Fairies’ (a special edition, illustrated by Dudley Hardy), which was succeeded by ‘Wyemark and the Mountain Fairies’ (illustrated by Jacomb Hood, 1900); ‘Wyemark's Mother’ (1903); ‘Sent to the Rescue: or Wyemark's Adventures in South America’ (1903); and ‘My Brother the King’ (posthumous, 1910). The tales owed much to the suggestion of Lewis Carroll, but there was originality in their execution.

Cooper, whose features were marked by a rare refinement, bore his physical disabilities with courage and cheerfulness. In 1898, supported by two sticks, he made the new ascent of Mont Blanc, as far as the Col du Goûter. He died suddenly at Newmarket, from an apoplectic seizure, on 26 April 1910, and was buried in Kensal Green cemetery. He was unmarried.

Besides the works named, Cooper wrote: 1. ‘Resolved to be Rich,’ 1899. 2. ‘Children, Racehorses, and Ghosts’ (a collection of sketches), 1899. 3. ‘The Monk Wins,’ 1900. 4. ‘The Eternal Choice,’ 1901 (a more serious study). 5. ‘A Fool's Year’ (another sporting story), 1901. 6. ‘George and Son,’ 1902. 7. ‘The Gentleman from Goodwood,’ 1902; 3rd edit. 1909. 8. ‘The Viscountess Normanhurst,’ 1903 (a study of mother and child). 9. ‘Lord and Lady Aston,’ 1904. 10. ‘The Twentieth-Century Child,’ 1905 (a collection of essays). 11. ‘The Marquis and Pamela,’ 1908. 12. ‘The End of the Journey,’ 1908 (both pictures of smart society). 13. ‘A Newmarket Squire,’ 1910 (a novel of sport and child life).

 COOPER, JAMES DAVIS (1823–1904), wood-engraver, born at Pratt's Place, Lambeth, on 18 Nov. 1823, was son of George and Emily Cooper. He belonged to a family of musicians who from father to son were organists at St. Sepulchre's, Snow Hill, for over one hundred years. His father, George Cooper, besides being organist at St. Sepulchre's, was assistant organist at St. Paul's Cathedral, under Thomas Attwood [q. v.] as well as at the Chapel Royal, St. James's, under Sir George Smart [q. v.]. George Cooper, elder brother to James Davis, succeeded his father, on his death in 1832, in all these posts, and was at one time organist at Christ's Hospital, Newgate Street. James Davis entered the City of London School in Feb. 1837, as one of the original scholars, and leaving in December of the same year passed into the studio of Josiah Whymper [q. v. Suppl. II], the wood-engraver, in Canterbury Road, Lambeth. During his apprenticeship he rapidly developed the talent which made him one of the most successful engravers of the period known as the 'sixties,' when the art of wood-engraving enjoyed a noteworthy revival. From 1848 he lived in Ely Place, Holborn, then in Camberwell till 1854, when he moved to 26 Great James Street, Bedford Row. His office was here till about 1860, when he established his business at 188 Strand.

Among Cooper's earlier works were the engraved illustrations to 'Favourite English Poems' (1859), Mrs. Barbauld's 'Hymns in Prose' (1863), and Robert Barnes' 'Pictures of English Life ' (n.d.. c. 1865). Later, he worked with Randolph Caldecott [q. v.] on the well-known illustrations for the Macmillan edition of Washington Irving's 'Old Christmas' (1876) and 'Bracebridge Hall' (1877). The excellence of his craftsmanship may be judged by a comparison of his engravings for Caldecott's 'Breton Folk' (text by H. Blackburn, 1880) with the original drawings, which are in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Many illustrated books, like the first four mentioned above, were entirely planned by Cooper ; and whilst seeking suitable artists to carry out his ideas, he discovered and encouraged the talent of such men as Robert Barnes, Caldecott, E. M. Wimperis, and William Small. Cooper also engraved the illustrations for works by many eminent authors. His handiwork appears in Queen Victoria's 'Our Life in the Highlands' (1868) and in 'The Prince of Wales' Tour in India' (by Sir W. H. Russell, 1877). He was responsible for the illustrations to books by Darwin, 