Edward Hull was an English illustrator and watercolour painter who exhibited at the Royal Academy in London. He was the brother of Willam Hull, another well known illustrator and watercolour painter. Born in Keysoe in Bedfordshire, England, the fourth son (and sixth child) of a farmer, James Hull – who became a Moravian Missionary to Manchester, he was an engraver who also painted many watercolours and, in later life, became known as a book illustrator. He was employed for many years up to 1861 by The Illustrated Times the best-known publication in London, and was an illustrator for several books such as Stratford on Avon by Sidney Lee (published around 1890) and The Laureate’s Country (a book on Alfred Tennyson) by Alfred J. Church, published around the same time. Hull symbolises the spirit of illustration in the 19th century. The great illustrators such as Phiz (who illustrated many of Dickens’s books) are well known. Hull represents the many who plied their trade in periodicals and books before the advent of photography in the early 20th century. Hull was also a wood engraver as recognised by his inclusion in Rodney Engen’s Dictionary of Victorian Wood Engravers (1990). Hull lived most of his life in London. He travelled widely in England as his paintings and illustrations show. He married and had two daughters and three granddaughters. He died on 3 February 1906 and is buried in St Peters Church at Sharnbrook in Bedfordshire.