EXTRACTS: Pirates! Illustrators Special Edition © 2020 The Book Palace (128 PAGES in Full edition)

78 Nicholas , a children’s publication, which, again, was also accepted. Spurred by his recently found success, Pyle decided to follow Roswell Smith’s advice, and left for New York in late 1876, and abandoned a career in the leather business for a life dedicated to art and literature. However, due to his lack of experience, Pyle struggled in the beginning trying to translate his ideas into illustrations. Nevertheless, he was encouraged by some of his fellow artists, including Edwin Austin Abbey, A. B. Frost, and Fre‐ derick S. Church, to continue working. Finally, his hardship paid off, when in 1878, Harper’s Weekly published his first piece for them: ‘AWreck in the Offring’ ( sic ), a double-page spread with his illustrations, for which he was paid the as‐ tronomical (at the time) sum of seventy-five dollars—five