Leslie was born on March 29, 1821, in Ipswich, England as Henry Carter, the son of Joseph Carter, the proprietor of a long-standing and prosperous glove manufacturing firm.
He was educated in Ipswich and he then trained for commerce in London.
As a boy on his way to and from school, he passed a silversmith's shop whose workers he took a detailed interest in, especially those who engraved designs and letters upon various articles of silver and gold.
He took note of the tools that were used and the manner of using them and acquired the necessary tools to do the work himself.
At the age of 13, he did his first wood engraving of the coat of arms of his home town.

At 17, he was sent to London to learn more about the glove-making business in the extensive dry goods establishment of his uncle, but every moment that could be snatched from the "dreary drudgery of the desk's dead wood" was surreptitiously devoted to sketching, drawing or engraving.
His father, uncle and relatives so discouraged his artistic aspirations, that he was constrained to keep his work a secret from them.

He contributed sketches to the Illustrated London News, signing them as Frank Leslie to insure his anonymity.
These were so cordially welcomed that  he eventually gave up commerce and was made superintendent of engraving on that journal.
He made himself an expert and inventor in his new work.
It was here that he learned the operation known as overlaying – the system of regulating light and shade effects – in pictorial printing, a system which he was the first to introduce to the United States.

He was first married in England, and had three sons with his first wife, Harry, Alfred and Scipio.
He and she separated in 1860.
He legally changed his name to Frank Leslie in 1857.
Leslie was born on March 29, 1821, in Ipswich, England as Henry Carter, the son of Joseph Carter, the proprietor of a long-standing and prosperous glove manufacturing firm. He was educated in Ipswich and he then trained for commerce in London. As a boy on his way to and from school, he passed a silversmith's shop whose workers he took a detailed interest in, especially those who engraved designs and letters upon various articles of silver and gold. He took note of the tools that were used and the manner of using them and acquired the necessary tools to do the work himself. At the age of 13, he did his first wood engraving of the coat of arms of his home town. 
At 17, he was sent to London to learn more about the glove-making business in the extensive dry goods establishment of his uncle, but every moment that could be snatched from the "dreary drudgery of the desk's dead wood" was surreptitiously devoted to sketching, drawing or engraving. His father, uncle and relatives so discouraged his artistic aspirations, that he was constrained to keep his work a secret from them.
He contributed sketches to the Illustrated London News, signing them as Frank Leslie to insure his anonymity. These were so cordially welcomed that  he eventually gave up commerce and was made superintendent of engraving on that journal. He made himself an expert and inventor in his new work. It was here that he learned the operation known as overlaying – the system of regulating light and shade effects – in pictorial printing, a system which he was the first to introduce to the United States.
He was first married in England, and had three sons with his first wife, Harry, Alfred and Scipio. He and she separated in 1860. He legally changed his name to Frank Leslie in 1857.
Frank Leslie