Inspector E. Denning
[caption id="attachment_28" align="alignnone" width="340" caption="Spy Print Original - Insp. Denning"]
[/caption]An original Spy - Vanity Fair Print by Ape click here for full details
Ape - Carlo Pellegrini
was born in March 1838 in Capua, near Naples, Italy to a noble family. His character was prominent and boldly individual from a young age. He began to draw caricatures in Naples as thumbnail sketches but he didn't have any published until he joined Vanity Fair. Pellegrini moved to London in November 1864. Alias SINGE for his first two plates, which was later translated to English as APE. Pellegrini started working for Vanity Fair in 1869 being the author of the very first published caricature.
There is some confusion as to the subject of this initial cartoon, his biography published in Vanity Fair suggests that it was of Lord Beaconsfield, whereas other sources name Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli as his first published lithograph. Ape frequently worked from memory, but when he did work from life, he preferred to have a friend present to engage him in conversation. He was connected to the English High Society and had many friends there, although his socialite, generous nature usually left him in financial straits. He was considered to be objectionably dressed.
Pellegrini continued to work for this publication, with little interruption, until his death in January 1889 at the age of 50 years. His caricatures were known to never slander a foe and never to adulate a friend, however the subjects of his pencil considered him as a friend and were the most ardent of his admirers.
