Thomas Crane was the eldest son of painter and miniaturist Thomas Crane (1808-1859) and his wife Marie Crane. As with his younger brother, Walter Crane, Thomas was influenced by his father’s craft and skill as a painter to pursue a career in the arts. Though he did not become as famous as his younger brother, Walter, the two Cranes did enter into similar career paths, with Thomas illustrating Christmas cards and children’s books, and designing needlework patterns.
Privately educated in Torquay, England, Thomas Crane was apprenticed to a lawyer and worked at the General Post Office before he decided to devote his time to a career in the arts. In the 1860 and 1870s Crane designed cloth book-bindings for James Burn & Co., a firm that also had connections to W.J. Linton, the engraver with whom his younger brother, Walter, apprenticed. After leaving James Burn & Co., Crane became the Director of Design at the London office of Marcus Ward & Co., where he supervised the design and sale of Christmas cards, a product which was becoming popular in 1880s Victorian England. Marcus Ward & Co. also designed books, and Thomas himself frequently worked on the illustrations for both their Christmas cards and children’s books. During Thomas Crane’s tenure as Director of Design at Marcus Ward & Co, the firm also produced a number of acclaimed books by Walter Crane and Kate Greenaway.
During the 1880s, Thomas Crane, known for his ornamental designs and embellishments, produced a series of celebrated books with other contemporary illustrators such as his cousin, Ellen Elizabeth Houghton, and John George Sowerby. At Home (1881), Abroad (1882), and At Home Again (1883) were popular sellers.
In the later years of his life, Thomas began painting landscapes, which remained his primary focus until the end of his career. Thomas Crane became afflicted by paralysis and died somewhat suddenly on May 27, 1903 at the age of fifty-nine.
(source: https://www.illustrationhistory.org/artists/thomas-crane)