Harrie P. Mortlock was born in Sydney in late 1894 and attended school until the age of fourteen. At the age of twenty-one Mortlock enlisted in the army, which took him to the western front. While fighting in Bullecourt he was wounded on his right thigh, which required prompt amputation. As a result, Mortlock wore a heavy artificial leg for the rest of his life. This, however, did not hinder his sportive, gardening, or artistic pursuits, as Mortlock often joined
Lionel Lindsay and
Rhys Williams in painting excursions to the bushlands of Sydney's north shore.
Upon his return from the battlefield and following his recovery from his war injury, Mortlock took up a cadetship in the Sydney firm
Samuel E. Lees Limited. During this time, Mortlock studied business-related subjects by taking correspondence courses, and contributed to the company's in-house magazine. In subsequent years Mortlock worked for
Boylan & Co. printers, which registered the trade-mark for its dedicated fine books press, the
Beacon Press. The press operated for over twenty years, between 1930 and 1953, with Mortlock as its director.
Mortlock's professional affiliations included the Ex Libris Society (1918) and the
Australian Limited Editions Society.
Mortlock married Lois Clarke Selkirk Payne (1899-1995) in 1925, and gave her a bookplate as one of his gifts. The couple settled in Wahroonga, and had several children. Starting in 1940, Mortlock served in the Security Service of the Intelligence Corps, and spent the war service in Sydney. In 1946 he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and after a year-long period in hospital, refurbished his house so he could move back in with his family while minimising the risk of contagion. He died in 1954 in Sydney, of an unrelated condition.
