WHEREAS, Felix Octavius Carr Darley, a prolific 19^th century illustrator and designer, was born on June 22, 1821, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and moved to Claymont, Delaware in 1859 where he completed most of his major works before he died there on March 27, 1888; and

WHEREAS, Felix Darley was the illustrator for Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", "Rip Van Winkle", "Tales of a Traveler", and the five-volume "Life of George Washington"; and

WHEREAS, Darley created the sketches for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Evangeline" and was the illustrator for the American publications of Charles Dickens, including "A Tale of Two Cities"; and

WHEREAS, Darley designed and executed the two woodcut illustrations for the first printing of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Gold Bug" in the Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper; and

WHEREAS, Darley provided illustrations for the first known publication of Clement Moore's "A Visit from St. Nicholas", and the edition featuring the first change of the last line from "happy Christmas to all" to "merry Christmas to all"; and

WHEREAS, in 1875, Darley engaged in preparing 500 drawings to illustrate a book entitled "History of the United States" by B. J. Lossing; and

WHEREAS, Darley illustrated more than 500 designs for James Fenimore Cooper's works, including a project involving designs for 64 steel engravings and 120 wood engravings, leading to the publication of "The Cooper Vignettes" which showcased the artist's works; and

WHEREAS, Darley provided the line drawings for Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter"; and

WHEREAS, Darley was elected a member of the Academy of Design in 1852; and

WHEREAS, Darley was a member of the Artist's Fund Society and was one of the early members of the American Society of Painters in Watercolors; and

WHEREAS, Darley was inducted into the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame in 2001; and

WHEREAS, for his accomplishments, Darley is credited by many scholars with helping to create the pioneer image of American history;

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the 142^nd General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the Senate concurring therein, that June 22, 2003, be designated as Felix Darley Day in Delaware.