Born in Andover, Massachusetts, in 1886 William H. Foster entered the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, in Boston about 1904. In 1907 he began work for the Boston Traveler as a cartoonist and newspaper artist.
Foster came to Wiimington in November 1908 and occupied studios first at 804 Orange Street and then at 1108 Franklin Street. Illustrating mostly “speed” stories of boats, cars, and trains, his work was included in Red Book, Saturday Evening Post, Harper’s Monthly, Scribner’s, Ladies’ Home Journal, Everybody’s Magazine. In 1909 Foster painted covers for Associated Sunday Magazines, and illustrated the Thanksgiving cover of Harper’s Monthly. In February 1910, four full page illustrations in color and several vignettes for a railroad story he had written, entitled “All in a Day’s Run,” were published. He also produced a large, two-color poster design to illustrate the story.
A well-known wildlife writer, Foster was the editor of National Sportsman and Hunting and Fishing. He wrote and illustrated Grouse Hauling, published posthumously. A pioneer in the development of skeet shooting, Foster died of heart attack at the age of fifty five, while attending the New England bird dog championships.
