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Fine Arts, UBC Library
Edwardian Illustrated Gift Books for Children
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The
end of the nineteenth century brought a dramatic change in the appearance
of illustrated children's books. New photomechanical methods of reproduction
replaced wood engravings of the previous century, resulting in productions
full of colour and new intensity. Incorporation of photolithography into the publishing realm, allowed for a greater production of inexpensive 'coffee-table' books, known for their vivid illustrations. This rapid increase in the number of new publications, resulted in a greater need for artists able to illustrate books for a wider audience.
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Illustration
by A. E. Jackson for
Charles Kingsley, The Water Babies. (London: Humphrey Milford, 1905), facing p. 170. |
Gift BooksLate nineteenth and early twentieth-century England saw an emergence of a separate genre of children's books, known as the 'gift book'. Gift books were not particular to children's literature only, although children's materials did comprise a high percentage of the gift book industry. John Lewis describes the gift book in his work Heath Robinson:They were well made, well bound in fine cloth often with a coloured illustration plate-sunk on the front cover, surrounded by richly-blocked designs in gold and colours. Sometimes they had ornamental headbands and coloured or decorated endpapers. (Lewis 1973, 91)Influenced by the illustrations of artists, such as Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, Beatrix Potter, and Mabel Lucie Attwell, whose illustrations of Water Babies (1915) received popular acclaim, gift books became an integral part of the British commercial publishing venture. |
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Illustration
by A. E. Jackson for
Charles Kingsley, The Water Babies. (London: Humphrey Milford, 1905), cover. |
| Rackham's
fascination with the fairyland and the grotesque juxtaposed with the delicacies
of his painting techniques, mostly watercolour, created an image full of
vivid manifestations, able to create a sense of tranquillity and fright
in his young readers. Washington Irving's Rip van Winkle is considered
to be one of Rackham's more interesting works.
Edmund Dulac's incorporation of Middle and Far-Eastern images in his fairy-tale like illustrations created a unique design aesthetic, quite different from those of his contemporaries. Illustrations in Stories from the Arabian Nights are representative of his vivid sense of colour and design, as well as his fascination with the Middle-Eastern culture. Beatrix Potter's work was influenced by that of Randolph Caldecott, and by Potter's own interest in the natural world of animals, fossils and fungi. Her successful publication of Peter Rabbit was highly praised for its detailed portrayal of animals and the skillful fusion of text and illustrations. Gift books reigned supreme during the years preceding the First World War. Production declined during 1929-1930, due to the increased cost of materials. |
Bibliography:Felmingham, Michael. The Illustrated Gift Book 1880-1930, with Checklist of 2500 Titles. Aldershot: Scolar Press, 1988.Houfe, Simon. The Dictionary of 19th Century British Book Illustrators and Caricaturists. Suffolk, England: Antique Collectors' Club, 1988. Housman, Laurence. Stories from the Arabian Nights. With drawings by Edmund Dulac. London: Hodder & Stoughton, [191-?]. Irving, Washington. Rip Van Winkle. With drawings by Arthur Rackham. London: W. Heinemann, 1919 [1905]. Kingsley, Charles. The Water Babies. Illustrated by A. E. Jackson. London: Humphrey Milford, 1905. Kingsley, Charles. The Water-Babies. Pictured by Mabel Lucie Attwell, edited by Edric Vredenburg. London, Paris, New York: R. Tuck, [1915?]. Lewis, John. Heath Robinson: Artist and Comic Genius. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1973. Potter,
Beatrix. The Tale of Peter Rabbit. London: F. Warne, [1902?]
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| Location:
Fine Arts Library Dates: November to December 2002 |
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