William Mitcheson Timlin
William Mitcheson Timlin (1892-1943) was an architect and illustrator, who designed some of South Africa's most famous atmospheric theatres.
Also referred to as William M. Timlin in some sources.
Biography
Born William Mitcheson Timlin in 1892 in Ashington, Northumberland, the son of a colliery fireman, he attended Morpeth Grammar School. Showing a talent for drawing, he received a scholarship to the Armstrong College of Art in Newcastle. In 1910 he joined his parents in Kimberley, South Africa, where he began to work for the architectural firm of D.W. Greatbach, later becoming a partner in the firm Greatbach and Timlin. He remained in Kimberley for the rest of his life. A multi-talented man, he produced numerous art works, exhibiting works in watercolour, oil, pastel, and producing etchings and periodical illustrations. He also wrote stories and composed music.
Timlin designed a number of important buildings in Kimberley including Kimberly Boys' High School while pursuing his interest in art, turning out a large number of watercolour fantasies in addition to oils, pastels, etchings and periodical illustrations. His work was regularly exhibited. He also wrote stories and composed music.
In fact Timlin gained particular renown as a book illustrator, especially for his own highly regarded fantasy book The Ship that Sailed to Mars: a Fantasy (George Harrap, 1923, new edition by Stonewall Publications, 1993.) It was started as a diversion for his son in 1921, but the work expanded until in its final form it had 48 pages of text and 48 colour plates showing remarkable flights of fantasy. The book became a fantasy classic and the film rights were purchased in the United States. In The Dictionary of 20th Century British Book Illustrators Alan Horne describes the book as a masterpiece and "the most original and beautiful children's book of the 1920s".[]
He also illustrated many South African travel books and prepared illustrations for a book titled The Building of a Fairy City which was never published. He died in Kimberley, Northern Cape in 1943.
His impact on theatre design
Besides his designs for a number of important buildings in Kimberley, including Kimberly Boys' High School, Timlin also designed or helped on the interior design of, many performance venues, buildings that included the Plaza Kinema in Kimberley (for Kinemas Limited, 1928). He notably supplied the architect P. Rogers Cooke with the interior designs for two highly regarded atmospheric theatres, namely The Alhambra (Cape Town, 1931) and The Collisseum (Johannesburg, 1933). Possibly also the Playhouse Theatre in Durban.
In addition, Timlin designed many theatre programmes and posters for productions put on in Kimberley.
Sources
Marilyn Martin, 1995
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_M._Timlin
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