The Golden Age of Illustration

Illustrations have been used for centuries dating back to the Ancient Civilizations: the Ancient Egyptians decorated their tomb walls however this was not called illustration but called 'art work'.

 The late 19th Century became known as The Golden Age of Illustration  because as technology developed prints were easier to mass produce and more people started reading which meant that more books were being produced.


Charles Dickens 


Illustration became wide spread as artists were getting commissioned to add illustrations to books for authors such as Charles Dickens. This meant that illustration became established as a trade and more artists started to illustrate.


Charles Dickens worked closely with his illustrators, his works came out in installments and the illustrators began work before the next installment was due so they could be printed together. Dickens gave his illustrators a general summary of the chapter that he was writing so that the illustration was relevant and gave the readers a clear view of what was being narrated. Often the illustration appeared cut into the text so that the reader could see the story as they read it.

scene from "Oliver Twist" by George Cruikshank

characters from "Great Expectations"

Kelmscott Press


The Kelmscott Press was a collection of works by William Morris and some colleagues, the books featured their works. Morris was a writer and a poet who wanted his works to look good. He had worked on producing a book however he decided to create his own press company.

William Morris took influence from the Medieval and the Pre-Raphaelites and highly decorated the pages in the books. The books were designed to be read slowly and the illustrations and typography appreciated as much as the content of the words.

He created three new typefaces: Golden, Troy and Chaucer.

The frontispiece to "The Wood Beyond the World"
Illustration by Edward Burne-Jones

Page from Kelmscott Chaucer
decoration by William Morris
illustration by Edward Burne-Jones

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Aesthetic Movement


This movement aimed to show that beauty was possible in everything, the artists in this movement sparked an interest in interior design and people realized they could have beauty in their everyday lives.

wallpaper by Walter Crane

wallpaper by Walter Crane

Middle Class citizens began to decorate their homes fascinated by "The House Beautiful" artists such as Walter Crane were commissioned to design works that furniture and designers could use to sell their products.

Many artists took influence from other countries such as Greece, Japan and throughout Europe, it is suggested that in the wallpaper shown above Crane has taken influence from the Greek and Japanese by using similar techniques of solid blocks of colour and black outlines.

pottery vase by Christopher Dresser

Christopher Dresser was the first European artist who went to Japan after the reopening of the border, some of his works show how the different culture has inspired his works. He created works for the interior of homes. He created a full set of tableware that was easily available for all homes as well as textile works, vases, furniture and glassworks.

Queen Anne Revival

Kate Greenway

Beatrix Potter

women accepted into art world - kids books

Useful Links

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/praf/hd_praf.htm

http://www.artsandcraftsmuseum.org.uk/Arts_and_Crafts_Movement/Emery_Walker_Library/The_Private_Press_Movement/Kelmscott_Press.aspx

http://charlesdickenspage.com/illustrations.html

http://www.artcyclopedia.com/history/golden-age.html

http://artofnarrative.tumblr.com/post/77570089830/edward-burne-jones-the-wood-beyond-the-world-by

http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/morris/kelmscott.html

http://www.flashcardmachine.com/print/?limit_flagged=include&topic_id=612879&mode=single&cpp=6&size=5x8

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/aestheticism/

http://www.veniceclayartists.com/design-innovator-christopher-dresser/

http://www.bricksandbrass.co.uk/design_history/queen_anne_style.php

http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/greenaway/

http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/death-kate-greenaway

http://www.peterrabbit.com/en/beatrix_potter/beatrixs_life/beatrix_potters_art/landscapes