Percy J. Billinghurst and the Image that Could Have Gone Viral

In the day to day course of events, there's always something surprising that comes up, and in a business like ours, surprises happen fairly often.
But nothing was more surprising than the shocking results of an image we posted on social media around the beginning of this month. This image was shared 60 times, and reached over 10,000 people. It also got over 200 reactions in a specific group we posted to, (and probably many more in other places.)
While this image did not go viral, (actually nowhere close, when you consider how unfathomably huge the population of the world is,) it was a massively popular image, and did far better than all the other images we posted on social media. Maybe it could have gone viral... who knows?

But it can be interesting to explore the appeal of images like this. And it begins with the illustrator himself. Percy James Billinghurst (1871-1933) made a name for himself at the turn of the 20th century by illustrating children's books about animals. The most famous examples are A Hundred Anecdotes of Animals (London & New York, John Lane, 1901), and A Hundred Fables of La Fontaine (London & New York, John Lane, 1900). The latter is where we got our miraculously performing social media post.
To be perfectly honest, we are positively stumped as to why this image is so popular, but I think it's safe to say that at least part of it is due to Bllinghurst's exemplary pen technique, as he certainly appears to make every pen stroke count. (Just look at those feathers!!) Also, when you consider that these illustrations were used primarily as decoration, you can get a sense of their aesthetic appeal. Also, his use of contrasting lights and darks gives depth to his images. And last but not least, past popularity is also a fairly good indicator. Take a look at this advertisement we found in the December 7th, 1901 issue of The New York Tribune:

In this image, you can see that all but one of the Holiday Books are illustrated by Billinghurst. Also, please keep in mind that this is only one of many ads we found that promote Billinghurst's work. It wouldn't be at all surprising if there were another ad floating around somewhere that promotes him even more emphatically. (Although, in the above example, I have to admit I feel kind of bad for Walter Crane, as he was another excellent illustrator.)
And there you have it! Although there is very little biographical information on Billinghurst, (and I can't even find a picture of him,) I think we summed it all up pretty well.

Oops! I almost forgot. Here is the whole picture:

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