Paul Bransom
Illustration — Illustration by Paul Bransom from An Argosy of Fables, plate facing p. 52 Paul Bransom (July 26, 1885 – July 19, 1979) was an American painter, cartoonist, and illustrator of animals.
Also recorded as John Paul Bransom
Paul Bransom

Bransom, Paul · scan of The Wind in the Willows (c1913) Graheme, K., New York: Scribner, obtained from IA.org (online viewer, jpg) Converted to PNG, crude attempt to restore. Tiff data is probably the go here. · Public domain
- Born
- 1885. · Washington and D.C.
- Died
- 1979.
- Nationality
- United States.
- Occupation
- painter, comics artist, draftsperson and illustrator.
- Fields
- painting, art of drawing and illustration.
- Known for
- The Wind in the Willows.
- Languages
- English.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Illustration — Illustration by Paul Bransom from An Argosy of Fables, plate facing p. 52 Paul Bransom (July 26, 1885 – July 19, 1979) was an American painter, cartoonist, and illustrator of animals.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
Paul Bransom (1885–1979) was a comics artist, draftsperson and illustrator, among other activities, of American nationality. Paul Bransom was also known as Bransom, John Paul.
The comics artist worked for General Electric, New York Journal-American and Southern Railway, among others. Activity centred on art of drawing, illustration and painting.
Among the works is The Wind in the Willows. Languages used include English. Works are held at Brandywine Museum of Art.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Paul Bransom. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q7149500 · wikipedia · Paul Bransom
In this article
Biography
Biography
The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is painting, art of drawing and illustration. Employment is recorded with United States Patent and Trademark Office, Southern Railway and General Electric. Works named in the authority record are The Wind in the Willows. Work by Paul Bransom is recorded in the collections of Brandywine Museum of Art.
Born in Washington, D.C., as a child Bransom started sketching animals he saw in his backyard and at the National Zoo. He began his career as a technical draftsman for the U.S. Patent Office when he was 13 years old. He relocated to New York City in 1903 and began drawing comic strips for the New York Evening Journal there. He drew the comic strip The Latest News from Bugville (1903–1912). After moving to New York, his talent as a wildlife artist was recognized while creating studies of the animals at the Bronx Zoo. His earliest commissions were covers for the Saturday Evening Post and illustrations for editions of Kipling's Just So Stories and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Bransom was awarded the Benjamin West Clinedinst Memorial Medal, and his works are included in the collection of the National Museum of American Illustration at Newport, Rhode Island. Bransom was a resident of New York City from 1906 until his death. He died on July 19, 1979, during a visit to Quakertown, Pennsylvania, several days before his 94th birthday.
Selected works
Selected works
• Illustration — Saturday Evening Post cover (March 14, 1925) • The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame (C. Scribner's Sons, 1913) • An Argosy of Fables, ed. Frederic Taber Cooper (Frederick A. Stokes, c1921) • The Wild Heart, Emma-Lindsay Squier (Cosmopolitan Book Corp., 1922) • Just So Stories, Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Kipling and Joseph M. Gleeson (Garden City, NY: Country Life Press, c1912) – Bransom provided front cover, endpapers, and title page illustrations for a 1932 edition containing the Kipling and Gleeson interior illustrations • The Country Gentleman (Curtis Publishing) cover illustration

Country Gentlemen magazine cover November 25, 1916, depicting a turkey (Thanksgiving reference) and a cat on a fence.
Paul Bransom Published by The Curtis Publishing Company, Philadelphia. Scanned by Don O'Brien · Cover of November 25, 1916, "Country Gentlemen" magazine, via Flickr: November 25, 1916

Identifier: secrettrails00robeuoft (find matches)
Internet Archive Book Images · https: Source book page
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1885
Paul Bransom was born in 1885 at Washington, D.C..
1979
Paul Bransom died on 1 January 1979.
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q7149500: Paul Bransom
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Paul Bransom”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1."Paul Bransom papers, 1862–1985, bulk 1904–1979" (finding aid). Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution (aaa.si.edu). With biographical sketch.
- 2.Paul Bransom. lambiek.net.
- 3.Curtis Publishing. Paul Bransom (1885–1979). Artists Gallery.
- 4.University of Pennsylvania. Online Books by Paul Bransom. The Online Books Page.
- 5.National Museum of American Illustration (americanillustration.org). Artists.
- 6."Paul Bransom, Illustrator, Dies; Called 'Dean of Animal Artists . Edith Evans Asbury. The New York Times. July 22, 1979. p. 34. Retrieved 2 September 2016. "died Thursday in Quakerstown, Pa., where he had been visiting. He would have been 94 years old next week."
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority record
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
He also worked under the name Bransom, John Paul. His recorded language was English. Bransom worked in painting, art of drawing and illustration. He was employed by United States Patent and Trademark Office, Southern Railway, General Electric, New York Journal-American and Success. Recorded with the occupation comics artist. Recorded as painter, comics artist, draftsperson and illustrator.
Identity and origins
Career and activity
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Comics and comic art
9,920 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Patrick ZircherArtist
- Patryck de FroidmontArtist
- Paul AndersonArtist
- Paul ArltArtist
- Paul ChadwickArtist
- Paul CokerArtist
- Paul ConradArtist
- Paul CuvelierArtist
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Paul Bransom?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.