The Space Art of Scriven Bolton

Abstract

Scriven Bolton (1883-1929) was an amateur astronomer from Leeds active in the first three decades of the twentieth century. He was also a skilled artist and commercial illustrator, specialising in astronomical subjects. He produced a substantial body of work which was reproduced in a wide range of publications, including newspapers, magazines and books published on both sides of the Atlantic. His work was intended to be scientifically accurate, and illustrates the consensus astronomical knowledge in the first decades of the twentieth century. No comprehensive list of his work was ever produced and he is now little remembered. This paper is a first report in an attempt to recover some his work and ultimately assess his contribution to early astronomical illustration.