Ethel Larcombe (artist)

Born and raised in Exeter, Larcombe was the daughter of John Samuel Larcombe and his wife Louisa who owned a small school in the town.[1] She first garnered attention for her 1899 work Summer for a competition held by The Studio Magazine, and her typographic lettering was subsequently shown at the Prima Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Decorativa Moderna in 1902 in Turin.[2] She was employed on a freelance basis by Talwin Morris, Art Director at the Glasgow-based publishers Blackie & Son to design bookbindings for the firm and their London subsidiary, Gresham.[3] Many of these designs were produced in several colourways.

Larcombe's work can be seen in contemporary publications by The Studio Magazine,[4] Stone,[5] Von Larisch,[6] Walter Shaw Sparrow[7] and Salwey.[8] In the spring of 1917, American retailer Sears marketed green-bordered cotton cloth "coverettes" bearing Larcombe illustrations to customers looking to decorate nurseries and children's rooms. Prior to that she had illustrated a number of "rag books" for Dean & Son.[9] Her designs were also used for chromolithographed postcards printed by E. W. Savory Co. of Bristol and she provided an advert for Arts & Crafts furniture designers Neatby & Evans.[10]

Larcombe died in Exeter on 12 December 1940.