Messel was born in London, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Messel and Maud, the only daughter of Linley Sambourne, the eminent illustrator and contributor to Punch magazine.
King Edward VII | Edward I of England | Edward III of England | Edward VIII | Edward VII | Prince Edward Island | Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex | Edward III | Edward | Edward Heath | Edward G. Robinson | Edward Albee | Edward Elgar | Edward I | Edward IV of England | Edward VI of England | King Edward's School, Birmingham | Edward Hopper | Edward Gibbon | Edward Burne-Jones | Prince Edward | Edward Bulwer-Lytton | Edward II of England | Edward Weston | Edward James Olmos | Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby | Edward R. Murrow | James Francis Edward Stuart | Edward the Confessor | Edward Norton |
In addition to Joseph Crawhall, other artists who illustrated Leadenhall Press books included Randolph Caldecott, Georgie Gaskin, Tristram Ellis, William Luker Jr., and Punch cartoonists Phil May, Charles Keene and Linley Sambourne.