Born in Dorset, England in 1860, Charles Bartlett developed an interest in drawing from an early age. In 1883 (aged 23) he was accepted into the royal Academy in London where he studied for three years. Following a few years in Paris working as an artist, he returned to England in 1889 and married Emily Frances Tate in 1890. Emily's death in 1891 during childbirth, along with the death of their child affected him greatly and he spent time travelling in Europe with his friend and artist, Frank Brangwyn (1867-1956). Finally returning to London in 1898 he met and married Catherine (Kate) of Glasgow and in the subsequent years they lived in Devon and Charles developed an interest in printmaking.
In 1913 Charles and Kate set out on a trip around the world, visiting Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), India, eventually arriving in Yokohama, Japan in 1915. He filled numerous sketchbooks with drawings and watercolours during these travels. While in Japan Charles began to experiment with the ukiyo-e process and through Kate's good friend, Elizabeth Keith, Charles met Watanabe Shozaburo. On the lookout for new talent in his endeavour to revive woodblock printing, the astute Watanabe saw the potential of Bartlett's drawings and watercolours, especially of India and Ceylon which he felt would remind potential clients of their travels or might inspire them to visit famous and exotic places.
In 1916 twenty-two woodblock prints were produced with Watanabe using drawings and paintings from India, Ceylon and Japan, including two series each comprising six prints - 1st Series. India and 2nd Series. Japan. These prints were sold as a six-print portfolio with a cover designed by Bartlett and were also sold individually.
After travelling to Korea, in 1917 the Bartletts arrived in Honolulu where they settled permanently, although they continued to travel with trips to China, Japan and Java over the forthcoming years. Charles continued to produce prints with Watanabe with further scenes of India, Japan, China, Cylon and Hawaii. His final print with Watanabe was issued in 1926, after which he carried on producing his own hand-coloured copper-plate etchings in Hawaii.