English author and journalist Arthur Morrison (born 1 November 1863; died 4 December 1945) is best known for his realistic books, his depictions of working-class life in London's East End, and his Martin Hewitt-centered detective tales. Additionally, he authored various publications on Japanese art while collecting Japanese artwork. Through donations and purchases, the British Museum now holds a large portion of his collection. Morrison's novel A Child of the Jago is his most well-known piece of fiction (1896). Morrison published his first piece of significant journalism in the newspaper The Globe in 1885. He was hired in 1886 to a position at the People's Palace in Mile End after rising to the rank of the third-class clerk. He was granted reading privileges at the British Museum in 1888, and he went on to publish a series of 13 sketches titled Cockney Corner that chronicled daily life in a number of London neighborhoods, including Soho, Whitechapel, and Bow Street. Around 1,800 Japanese woodblock prints were given by Morrison to the British Museum in 1906.
