Born on March 5, 1853 in Wilmington, Delaware, Howard Pyle grew up to be an author, painter, and a pioneer in illustration. He was a well-established, respected artist whose illustrations were published in esteemed magazines such as Harper’s Weekly, but he wanted to write and illustrate his own stories as well. In 1883, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood was published. This book became Pyle’s best-known work, and made the public appreciate his literary qualities along with his artistic abilities. Many stories illustrated by Howard Pyle have become classics, such as Otto of the Silver Hand (1888), Jack Ballister’s Fortunes (1895), including some of his own folktales, Pepper and Salt (1886), The Wonder Clock (1888), and The Garden Behind the Moon (1895). Due to his remarkable work, Pyle also came into contact with many renowned personalities of his time. He illustrated in The Washington by Woodrow Wilson, in the books written by Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. In 1910, Pyle moved to Italy with his wife and kids with the aim of studying the old masters. There he breathed his last at the age of 58.