David Hunter Strother ("Porte Crayon") (26 September 1816-8 March 1888), who lived a long and richly varied life, was widely known and handsomely paid for his illustrated sketches. These appeared mainly in Harper's Magazine, which was founded in June 1850 and by 1860 was the most popular magazine in America, with over 200,000 subscribers; and Strother was Harper's star contributor.

Strother was born in Martinsburg, Virginia (now West Virginia). His father was assistant county clerk but had been a colonel in the militia and was, all his life, a highly respected member of the community. Strother's mother, Elizabeth Hunter Strother, was related to many distinguished Virginia families; Strother was cousin to both the brothers John Esten and Philip Pendleton Cooke and John Pendleton and Philip Pendleton Kennedy.

As a boy, Strother was physically weak. This may have influenced his father to encourage him in his passion for art, for in 1829 Strother was sent...