Price 50 Cents

_Special_ WINTER NUMBER _of_

THE INTERNATIONAL STUDIO

_CHILDREN'S BOOKS AND THEIR ILLUSTRATORS. _

_By_ GLEESON WHITE

[Illustration]

THE INTERNATIONAL STUDIO =John Lane=, 140 Fifth Avenue, _New York_

Scribner's New Books for the Young

 =Mrs. Burnett's famous Juveniles=

 =With all the original Illustrations by Reginald B. Birch. 5 vols. Each 12mo $1. 25. =

A writer in the _Boston Post_ has said of Mrs. Burnett: "She has abeauty of imagination and a spiritual insight into the meditations ofchildhood which are within the grasp of no other writer forchildren, "--and these five volumes would indeed be difficult to match inchild literature. The new edition is from new plates, with all theoriginal illustrations by Reginald B. Birch, is bound in a handsome newcover. "Little Lord Fauntleroy, " "Two Little Pilgrims' Progress, ""Piccino and Other Child Stories, " "Giovanni and the Other, " "SaraCrewe, " and "Little Saint Elizabeth and other Stories" (in one volume). 

 =Three New Volumes by G. A. Henty=

 =Illustrated by Walter Paget and W. A. Margetson. Each 12mo $1. 50=. 

It would be a bitter year for the boys if Mr. Henty were to fail themwith a fresh assortment of his enthralling tales of adventure, for, asthe London _Academy_ has said, in this kind of story telling, "he standsin the very first rank. " "With Frederick the Great" is a tale of theSeven Years' War, and has twelve full-page illustrations by Wal. Paget;"A March on London" details some stirring scenes of the times when WatTyler's motley crew took possession of that city, and the illustrationsare drawn by W. A. Margetson, while Wal. Paget has supplied the picturesfor "With Moore at Corunna, " in which the boy hero serves through thePeninsular War. (Each 12mo, $1. 50. )

 =Will Shakespeare's Little Lad by Imogen Clarke=

 =With 8 full-page Illustrations by Reginald B. Birch. 12mo $1. 50. =

"The author has caught the true spirit of Shakespeare's time, and paintshis home surroundings with a loving, tender grace, " says the Boston_Herald_. 

 =An Old-Field School Girl by Marion Harland=

(Illustrated, 12mo, $1. 25. ) "As pretty a story for girls as has beenpublished in a long time, " says the _Buffalo Express_, and the _ChicagoTribune_ is even more appreciative: "Compared with the average books ofits class 'An Old-Field School Girl, ' becomes a classic. "

 =Lullaby Land=

 =Verses by Eugene Field With 200 fanciful Illustrations by Charles Robinson. (Uniform with Stevenson's "A Child's Garden") 12mo $1. 50. =

"A collection of those dearly loved 'Songs of Childhood' by EugeneField, which have touched many hearts, both old and young, and willcontinue to do so as long as little children remain the joy of ourhomes. It was a happy thought of the publisher to choose another suchchild lover and sympathizer as Kenneth Grahame to write the Preface tothe new edition, and Charles Robinson to make the many quaint and mostamusing illustrations. "--_The Evangelist. _

 =With Crockett and Bowie by Kirk Munroe=

 =With 8 full-page Illustrations by Victor S. Perard. 12mo $1. 50. =

This "Tale of Texas; or, Fighting for the Lone Star Flag, " completes theauthor's _White Conqueror Series_. The Minneapolis _Tribune_ says: "Itis a breezy and invigorating tale. The characters, although drawn fromreal life, are surrounded by an atmosphere of romance and adventurewhich gives them the added fascination of being creatures of fiction, and yet there is no straining for effect. "

 =The Naval Cadet=

 =With 6 full-page Illustrations by William Rainey, R. I. Crown 8vo $1. 25. =

A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea, by GORDON STABLES. A stirring taleof seafaring and sea-fighting on the coasts of Africa, South America, Australia, New Guinea, etc. , closing with a dramatic picture of thecombat between the Chinese and Japanese fleets at Yalu. 

 =The Stevenson Song Book=

 =With decorative borders. 4to $2. 00. =

In this large and handsome quarto, twenty of the most lyrical poems fromRobert Louis Stevenson's "Child's Garden of Verse", have been set tomusic by such composers as Reginald DeKoven, Arthur Foote, C. W. Chadwick, Dr. C. Villers Stanford, etc. The volume is uniform with and afitting companion to the popular "Field-De-Koven Song Book. "

 =Twelve Naval Captains by Molly Elliot Seawell=

 =With 12 full-page portraits. 12mo $1. 25. =

Miss Seawell here tells the notable exploits of twelve heroes of ourearly navy: John Paul Jones, Richard Dale, William Bainbridge, RichardSomers, Edward Preble, Thomas Truxton, Stephen Decatur, James Lawrance, Isaac Hull, O. H. Perry, Charles Stewart, Thomas Macdonough. The book isillustrated attractively and makes a stirring and thrilling volume. 

 =The Knights of the Round Table=

 =With 25 Illustrations by S. R. Benliegh. 12mo $1. 50. =

"King Arthur's Knights and their connection with the mystic Grail ishere the subject of Mr. William Henry Frost's translation into childlanguage. Many volumes have been prepared telling these wonderfullegendary stories to young people, but few are so admirably written asthis work, " says the _Boston Advertiser_. 

 =The Last Cruise of the Mohawk by W. J. Henderson=

 =Illustrated by Harry C. Edwards. 12mo $1. 25. =

The _Observer_ says: "This is an exciting story that boys of today willappreciate thoroughly and devour greedily, " and the _Rochester Democrat_calls it "an interesting and thrilling story. "

 =The King of the Broncos by Charles F. Lummis=

 =Illustrated by Victor S. Perard. 12mo $1. 25. =

The title story and the other Tales of New Mexico, which Mr. Lummis hashere supplied for the younger generation, have all his usualfascination. He knows how to tell his thrilling stories in a way that isirresistible? to boy readers. 

 =The Border Wars of New England=

 =With 58 Illustrations and map. 12mo $1. 25. =

Mr. Samuel Adams Drake is an expert at making history real and vital tochildren. The _Boston Advertiser_ says: "This is not a school book, yetit is exceedingly well adapted to use in schools, and at the same timewill enrich and adorn the library of every American who is so fortunateor so judicious as to place it on his shelves. "

 =The Golden Galleon by Robert Leighton=

 =With 8 full-page Illustrations by William Rainey, R. I. 12mo $1. 50. =

"A narrative of the adventures of Master Gilbert O'Glander, and of howin the year 1591 he fought under the gallant Sir Richard Grenville inthe great sea-fight off Flores, on board Her Majesty's ship, _TheRevenge_. " The New York _Observer_ has said: "Mr. Leighton as a writerfor boys needs no praise as his books place him in the front rank. "

 =Lords of the World=

 =With 12 full-page Illustrations by Ralph Peacock. 12mo. $1. 00. =

A Story of the Fall of Carthage and Corinth. By ALFRED J. CHURCH. In hisown special field the author has few rivals. He has a capacity formaking antiquity assume reality which is fascinating in the extreme. 

 =Adventures in Toyland=

 =With 8 colored plates and 72 other Illustrations by Alice B. Woodward. Square 8vo. $2. 00. =

By EDITH KING HALL. A clever and fascinating volume which will surelytake a high place among this season's "juveniles. "

 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, 153-157 Fifth Ave, N. Y. 

[Illustration: "THE HEIR TO FAIRY-LAND" FROM A WATER-COLOUR BY ROBERTHALLS]

THE INTERNATIONAL

STUDIO

SPECIAL WINTER-NUMBER 1897-8

CHILDREN'S BOOKS AND THEIR ILLUSTRATORS. BY GLEESON WHITE. 

[Illustration: THE "MONKEY-BOOK" A FAVOURITE IN THE NURSERY

(_By permission of James H. Stone, Esq. , J. P. _)]

There are some themes that by their very wealth of suggestion appal themost ready writer. The emotions which they arouse, the mass of pleasantanecdote they recall, the ghosts of far-off delights they summon, areeither too obvious to be worth the trouble of description or tooevanescent to be expressed in dull prose. Swift, we are told (perhaps alittle too frequently), could write beautifully of a broomstick; whichmay strike a common person as a marvel of dexterity. After a while, thejournalist is apt to find that it is the perfect theme which proves tobe the hardest to treat adequately. Clothe a broomstick with fancies, even of the flimsiest tissue paper, and you get something more or lesslike a fairy-king's sceptre; but take the Pompadour's fan, or thehaunting effect of twilight over the meadows, and all you can do inwords seems but to hide its original beauties. We know that Mr. AustinDobson was able to add graceful wreaths even to the fan of thePompadour, and that another writer is able to impart to the mistytwilight not only the eerie fantasies it shows the careless observer, but also a host of others that only a poet feels, and that only a poetknows how to prison within his cage of printed syllables. Indeed, of thetheme of the present discourse has not the wonder-working Robert LouisStevenson sung of "Picture Books in Winter" and "The Land of StoryBooks, " so truly and clearly that it is dangerous for lesser folk toattempt essays in their praise? All that artists have done to amuse theaugust monarch "King Baby" (who, pictured by Mr. Robert Halls, is fitlyenthroned here by way of frontispiece) during the playtime of hisimmaturity is too big a subject for our space, and can but be indicatedin rough outline here. 

[Illustration: "ROBINSON CRUSOE. " THE WRECK FROM AN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURYCHAP-BOOK]

Luckily, a serious study of the evolution of the child's book alreadyexists. Since the bulk of this number was in type, I lighted by chanceupon "The Child and his Book, " by Mrs. E. M. Field, a most admirablevolume which traces its subject from times before the Norman conquest tothis century. Therein we find full accounts of MSS. Designed forteaching purposes, of early printed manuals, and of the mass ofliterature intended to impress "the Fear of the Lord and of theBroomstick. " Did space allow, the present chronicle might be enlivenedwith many an excerpt which she has culled from out-of-the-way sources. But the temptation to quote must be controlled. It is only fair to addthat in that work there is a very excellent chapter to "SomeIllustrators of Children's Books, " although its main purpose is the textof the books. One branch has found its specialist and its exhaustivemonograph, in Mr. Andrew Tuer's sumptuous volumes devoted to "The HornBook. "

[Illustration: "CRUSOE AND XURY ESCAPING" FROM AN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURYCHAP-BOOK]

Perhaps there is no pleasure the modern "grown-up" person envies theyoungsters of the hour as he envies them the shoals of delightful bookswhich publishers prepare for the Christmas tables of lucky children. Ifhe be old enough to remember Mrs. Trimmer's "History of the Robins, ""The Fairchild Family, " or that Poly-technically inspired romance, the"Swiss Family Robinson, " he feels that a certain half-hearted approvalof more dreary volumes is possibly due to the glamour which middle agecasts upon the past. It is said that even Barbauld's "Evenings at Home"and "Sandford and Merton" (the anecdotes only, I imagine) have beenfound toothsome dainties by unjaded youthful appetites; but when hecompares these with the books of the last twenty years, he wishes hecould become a child again to enjoy their sweets to the full. 

[Illustration: _"CRUSOE SETS SAIL ON HIS EVENTFUL VOYAGE" FROM ANEIGHTEENTH-CENTURY CHAP-BOOK_]

Now nine-tenths of this improvement is due to artist and publisher;although it is obvious that illustrations imply something to illustrate, and, as a rule (not by any means without exception), the better the textthe better the pictures. Years before good picture-books there were goodstories, and these, whether they be the classics of the nursery, thelaureates of its rhyme, the unknown author of its sagas, the bornstory-tellers--whether they date from prehistoric cave-dwellers, or areof our own age, like Charles Kingsley or Lewis Carroll--supply the textto spur on the artist to his best achievements. 

[Illustration: "THE TRUE TALE OF ROBIN HOOD. " FROM AN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURYCHAP-BOOK]

It is mainly a labour of love to infuse pictures intended for childisheyes with qualities that pertain to art. We like to believe that WalterCrane, Caldecott, Kate Greenaway and the rest receive ample appreciationfrom the small people. That they do in some cases is certain; but it isalso quite as evident that the veriest daub, if its subject beattractive, is enjoyed no less thoroughly. There are prigs of course, the children of the "prignorant, " who babble of Botticelli, and professto disdain any picture not conceived with "high art" mannerism. Yet eventhese will forget their pretence, and roar over a _Comic Cuts_ found onthe seat of a railway carriage, or stand delighted before someunspeakable poster of a melodrama. It is well to face the plain factthat the most popular illustrated books which please the children arenot always those which satisfy the critical adult. As a rule it is the"grown-ups" who buy; therefore with no wish to be-little the advance innursery taste, one must own that at present its improvement is chieflyowing to the active energies of those who give, and is only passivelytolerated by those who accept. Children awaking to the marvel thatrecreates a familiar object by a few lines and blotches on a piece ofpaper, are not unduly exigent. Their own primitive diagrams, like abadly drawn Euclidean problem, satisfy their idea of studies from thelife. Their schemes of colour are limited to harmonies in crimson lake, cobalt and gamboge, their skies are very blue, their grass arsenicallygreen, and their perspective as erratic as that of the Chinese. 

[Illustration: "TWO CHILDREN IN THE WOOD. " FROM AN EIGHTEENTH CENTURYCHAP-BOOK]

[Illustration: "SIR RICHARD WHITTINGTON. " FROM AN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURYCHAP-BOOK]

In fact, unpopular though it may be to project such a theory, onefancies that the real educational power of the picture-book is upon theelders, and thus, that it undoubtedly helps to raise the standard ofdomestic taste in art. But, on the other hand, whether his art isadequately appreciated or not, what an unprejudiced and whollyspontaneous acclaim awaits the artist who gives his best to the littleones! They do not place his work in portfolios or locked glass cases;they thumb it to death, surely the happiest of all fates for any printedbook. To see his volumes worn out by too eager votaries; what could anauthor or artist wish for more? The extraordinary devotion to a volumeof natural history, which after generations of use has become more likea mop-head than a book, may be seen in the reproduction of a"monkey-book" here illustrated; this curious result being caused bysheer affectionate thumbing of its leaves, until the dog-ears andrumpled pages turned the cube to a globular mass, since flattened bybeing packed away. So children love picture-books, not as bibliophileswould consider wisely, but too well. 

[Illustration: "AN AMERICAN MAN AND WOMAN IN THEIR PROPER HABITS. "ILLUSTRATION FROM "A MUSEUM FOR YOUNG GENTLEMEN AND LADIES" (S. CROWDER. 1790)]

To delight one of the least of these, to add a new joy to the crowdedmiracles of childhood, were no less worth doing than to leave a SistineChapel to astound a somewhat bored procession of tourists, or to havewritten a classic that sells by thousands and is possessed unread by allsave an infinitesimal percentage of its owners. 

When Randolph Caldecott died, a minor poet, unconsciously paraphrasingGarrick's epitaph, wrote: "For loss of him the laughter of the childrenwill grow less. " I quote the line from memory, perhaps incorrectly; ifso, its author will, I feel sure, forgive the unintentional mangling. Did the laughter of the children grow less? Happily one can be quitesure it did not. So long as any inept draughtsman can scrawl a few lineswhich they accept as a symbol of an engine, an elephant or a pussy cat, so long will the great army of invaders who are our predestinedconquerors be content to laugh anew at the request of any one, be hegood or mediocre, who caters for them. 

It is a pleasant and yet a saddening thought to remember that we wereonce recruits of this omnipotent army that wins always our lands and ourtreasures. Now, when grown up, whether we are millionaires or paupers, they have taken fortress by fortress with the treasures therein, ourpicture-books of one sort are theirs, and one must yield presently tothe babies as they grow up, even our criticism, for they will make theirown standards of worth and unworthiness despite all our efforts tocontrol their verdict. 

If we are conscious of being "up-to-date" in 1900, we may be quite surethat by 1925 we shall be ousted by a newer generation, and by 2000forgotten. Long before even that, the children we now try to amuse or toeducate, to defend at all costs, or to pray for as we never prayedbefore--they will be the masters. It is, then, not an ignoble thing todo one's very best to give our coming rulers a taste of the kingdom ofart, to let them unconsciously discover that there is something outsidecommon facts, intangible and not to be reduced to any rule, which may bea lasting pleasure to those who care to study it. 

It is evident, as one glances back over the centuries, that the childoccupies a new place in the world to-day. Excepting possibly certainroyal infants, we do not find that great artists of the past addressedthemselves to children. Are there any children's books illustrated byDürer, Burgmair, Altdorfer, Jost Amman, or the little masters ofGermany? Among the Florentine woodcuts do we find any designed forchildren? Did Rembrandt etch for them, or Jacob Beham prepare plates fortheir amusement? So far as I have searched, no single instance hasrewarded me. It is true that the _naïveté_ of much early work temptsone to believe that it was designed for babies. But the context showsthat it was the unlettered adult, not the juvenile, who was addressed. As the designs, obviously prepared for children, begin to appear, theyare almost entirely educational and by no means the work of the bestartists of the period. Even when they come to be numerous, their objectis seldom to amuse; they are didactic, and as a rule convey solemnwarnings. The idea of a draughtsman of note setting himself deliberatelyto please a child would have been inconceivable not so many years ago. To be seen and not heard was the utmost demanded of the little ones evenas late as the beginning of this century, when illustrated booksdesigned especially for their instruction were not infrequent. 

[Illustration: "THE WALLS OF BABYLON. " ILLUSTRATION FROM "A MUSEUM FORYOUNG GENTLEMEN AND LADIES" (S. CROWDER. 1790)]

As Mr. Theodore Watts-Dunton pointed out in his charming essay, "The NewHero, " which appeared in the _English Illustrated Magazine_ (Dec. 1883), the child was neglected even by the art of literature until Shakespearefurnished portraits at once vivid, engaging, and true in Arthur and inMamillus. In the same essay he goes on to say of the child--the newhero:

"And in art, painters and designers are vying with the poets and witheach other in accommodating their work to his well-known matter-of-facttastes and love of simple directness. Having discovered that the NewHero's ideal of pictorial representation is of that high dramatic andbusinesslike kind exemplified in the Bayeux tapestry, Mr. Caldecott, Mr. Walter Crane, Miss Kate Greenaway, Miss Dorothy Tennant, have each triedto surpass the other in appealing to the New Hero's love of realbusiness in art--treating him, indeed, as though he were Hoteï, theJapanese god of enjoyment--giving him as much colour, as much dramaticaction, and as little perspective as is possible to man's finitecapacity in this line. Some generous art critics have even gone so farindeed as to credit an entire artistic movement, that of pre-Raphaelism, with a benevolent desire to accommodate art to the New Hero's peculiarideas upon perspective. But this is a 'soft impeachment' born of thatloving kindness for which art-critics have always been famous. "

[Illustration: "MERCURY AND THE WOODMAN. " ILLUSTRATION FROM "BEWICK'SSELECT FABLES. " BY THOMAS BEWICK (1784)]

[Illustration: "THE BROTHER AND SISTER. " ILLUSTRATION FROM "BEWICK'SSELECT FABLES. " BY THOMAS BEWICK (1784)]

[Illustration: "LITTLE ANTHONY. " ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE LOOKING-GLASS OFTHE MIND. " BY THOMAS BEWICK (1792)]

[Illustration: "LITTLE ADOLPHUS. " ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE LOOKING-GLASSOF THE MIND. " BY THOMAS BEWICK (1792)]

It would be out of place here to project any theory to account for thismore recent homage paid to children, but it is quite certain that asimilar number of THE STUDIO could scarce have been compiled a centuryago, for there was practically no material for it. In fact the tastes ofchildren as a factor to be considered in life are well-nigh as modern assteam or the electric light, and far less ancient than printing withmovable types, which of itself seems the second great event in thehistory of humanity, the use of fire being the first. 

To leave generalities and come to particulars, as we dip into the storesof earlier centuries the broadsheets reveal almost nothing _intended_for children--the many Robin Hood ballads, for example, are decidedlymeant for grown-up people; and so in the eighteenth century we find itschap-books of "Guy, Earl of Warwick, " "Sir Bevis, of Southampton, ""Valentine and Orson, " are still addressed to the adult; while it ismore than doubtful whether even the earliest editions in chap-book formof "Tom Thumb, " and "Whittington" and the rest, now the property of thenursery, were really published for little ones. That they were the"light reading" of adults, the equivalent of to-day's _Ally Sloper_ orthe penny dreadful, is much more probable. No doubt children who cameacross them had a surreptitious treat, even as urchins of both sexes nowpounce with avidity upon stray copies of the ultra-popular and so-calledcomic papers. But you could not call _Ally Sloper_, that Punchinello ofthe Victorian era--who has received the honour of an elaborate articlein the _Nineteenth Century_--a child's hero, nor is his humour of a sortalways that childhood should understand--"Unsweetened Gin, " the"Broker's Man, " and similar subjects, for example. It is quite possiblethat respectable people did not care for their babies to read thechap-books of the eighteenth century any more than they like them now tostudy "halfpenny comics"; and that they were, in short, kitchenliterature, and not infantile. Even if the intellectual standard ofthose days was on a par in both domains, it does not prove that thereading of the kitchen and nursery was interchangeable. 

Before noticing any pictures in detail from old sources or new, it iswell to explain that as a rule only those showing some attempt to adaptthe drawing to a child's taste have been selected. Mere dull transcriptsof facts please children no less; but here space forbids theirinclusion. Otherwise nearly all modern illustration would come into ourscope. 

A search through the famous Roxburghe collection of broadsheetsdiscovered nothing that could be fairly regarded as a child'spublication. The chap-books of the eighteenth century have beenadequately discussed in Mr. John Ashton's admirable monograph, and fromthem a few "cuts" are here reproduced. Of course, if one takes thestandard of education of these days as the test, many of those curiouspublications would appear to be addressed to intelligence of the mostjuvenile sort. Yet the themes as a rule show unmistakably that childrenof a larger growth were catered for, as, for instance, "Joseph and hisBrethren, " "The Holy Disciple, " "The Wandering Jew, " and those earlierpamphlets which are reprints or new versions of books printed by Wynkynde Worde, Pynson, and others of the late fifteenth and early sixteenthcenturies. 

[Illustration: _Henry quitting School. _

ILLUSTRATION FROM "SKETCHES OF JUVENILE CHARACTERS" (E. WALLIS. 1818)]

In one, "The Witch of the Woodlands, " appears a picture of little peopledancing in a fairy ring, which might be supposed at first sight to be anillustration of a nursery tale, but the text describing a Witch'sSabbath, rapidly dispels the idea. Nor does a version of the popularFaust legend--"Dr. John Faustus"--appear to be edifying for youngpeople. This and "Friar Bacon" are of the class which lingered thelongest--the magical and oracular literature. Even to-day it is quitepossible that dream-books and prophetical pamphlets enjoy a large sale;but a few years ago many were to be found in the catalogues ofpublishers who catered for the million. It is not very long ago that theCompany of Stationers omitted hieroglyphics of coming events from itsalmanacs. Many fairy stories which to-day are repeated for the amusementof children were regarded as part of this literature--the traditionalfolk-lore which often enough survives many changes of the religiousfaith of a nation, and outlasts much civilisation. Others wereoriginally political satires, or social pasquinades; indeed not a fewnursery rhymes mask allusions to important historical incidents. Thechap-book form of publication is well adapted for the preservation ofhalf-discredited beliefs, of charms and prophecies, incantations andcures. 

In "Valentine and Orson, " of which a fragment is extant of a versionprinted by Wynkyn de Worde, we have unquestionably the real fairy story. This class of story, however, was not addressed directly to childrenuntil within the last hundred years. That many of the cuts used in thesechap-books afterwards found their way into little coarsely printedduodecimos of eight or sixteen pages designed for children is no doubt afact. Indeed the wanderings of these blocks, and the various uses towhich they were applied, is far too vast a theme to touch upon here. Forthis peripatetic habit of old wood-cuts was not even confined to theland of their production; after doing duty in one country, they wereready for fresh service in another. Often in the chap-books we meet withthe same block as an illustration of totally different scenes. 

[Illustration: TITLE-PAGE OF "THE PATHS OF LEARNING" (HARRIS AND SON. 1820)]

[Illustration: PAGE FROM "THE PATHS OF LEARNING" (HARRIS AND SON. 1820)]

The cut for the title-page of Robin Hood is a fair example of its kind. The Norfolk gentleman's "Last Will and Testament" turns out to be arambling rhymed version of the Two Children in the Wood. In the first ofits illustrations we see the dying parents commending their babes to thecruel world. The next is a subject taken from these lines:

 "Away then went these prity babes rejoycing at that tide, Rejoycing with a merry mind they should on cock-horse ride. "

And in the last, here reproduced, we see them when

 "Their prity lips with blackberries were all besmeared and dyed, And when they saw the darksome night, they sat them down and cried. "

But here it is more probable that it was the tragedy which attractedreaders, as the _Police News_ attracts to-day, and that it became achild's favourite by the accident of the robins burying the babes. 

The example from the "History of Sir Richard Whittington" needs nocomment. 

A very condensed version of "Robinson Crusoe" has blocks of distinct, ifarchaic, interest. The three here given show a certain sense ofdecorative treatment (probably the result of the artist's inability tobe realistic), which is distinctly amusing. One might select hundreds ofwoodcuts of this type, but those here reproduced will serve as well as athousand to indicate their general style. 

Some few of these books have contributed to later nursery folk-lore, as, for example, the well known "Jack Horner, " which is an extract from acoarse account of the adventures of a dwarf. 

One quality that is shared by all these earlier pictures is theirartlessness and often their absolute ugliness. Quaint is the highestadjective that fits them. In books of the later period not a few blocksof earlier date and of really fine design reappear; but in thechap-books quite 'prentice hands would seem to have been employed, andthe result therefore is only interesting for its age and rarity. So farthese pictures need no comment, they foreshadow nothing and are derivedfrom nothing, so far as their design is concerned. Such interest as theyhave is quite unconcerned with art in any way; they are not evensufficiently misdirected to act as warnings, but are merely clumsy. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "GERMAN POPULAR STORIES. " BY G. CRUIKSHANK (CHARLES TILT. 1824)]

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "GERMAN POPULAR STORIES. " BY G. CRUIKSHANK (CHARLES TILT. 1824)]

Children's books, as every collector knows, are among the mostshort-lived of all volumes. This is more especially true of those withillustrations, for their extra attractiveness serves but to degrade acomely book into a dog-eared and untidy thing, with leaves sere andyellow, and with no autumnal grace to mellow their decay. Long beforethis period, however, the nursery artist has marked them for his own, and with crimson lake and Prussian blue stained their pictures in alltoo permanent pigments, that in some cases resist every chemical theamateur applies with the vain hope of effacing the superfluous colour. 

Of course the disappearance of the vast majority of books for children(dating from 1760 to 1830, and even later) is no loss to art, althoughamong them are some few which are interesting as the 'prentice work ofillustrators who became famous. But these are the exceptions. Thanks tothe kindness of Mr. James Stone, of Birmingham, who has a large and mostinteresting collection of the most ephemeral of all sorts--the littlepenny and twopenny pamphlets--it has been possible to refer at firsthand to hundreds, of them. Yet, despite their interest as curiosities, their art need not detain us here. The pictures are mostly trivial ordull, and look like the products of very poorly equipped draughtsmen andcheap engravers. Some, in pamphlet shape, contain nursery rhymes andlittle stories, others are devoted to the alphabet and arithmetic. Amongst them are many printed on card, shaped like the cover of abank-book. These were called battledores, but as Mr. Tuer has dealt withthis class in "The Horn Book" so thoroughly, it would be mere waste oftime to discuss them here. 

Mr. Elkin Mathews also permitted me to run through his interestingcollection, and among them were many noted elsewhere in these pages, butthe rest, so far as the pictures are concerned, do not call for detailednotice. They do, indeed, contain pictures of children--but mere"factual" scenes, as a rule--without any real fun or real imagination. Those who wish to look up early examples will find a large andentertaining variety among "The Pearson Collection" in the National ArtLibrary at South Kensington Museum. 

Turning to quite another class, we find "A Museum for Young Gentlemenand Ladies" (Collins: Salisbury), a typical volume of its kind. Itspreface begins: "I am very much concerned when I see young gentlemen offortune and quality so wholly set upon pleasure and diversions.... Thegreater part of our British youth lose their figure and grow out offashion by the time they are twenty-five. As soon as the natural gaietyand amiableness of the young man wears off they have nothing left torecommend, but _lie by_ the rest of their lives among the lumber andrefuse of their species"--a promising start for a moral lecture, whichgoes on to implore those who are in the flower of their youth to "labourat those accomplishments which may set off their persons when theirbloom is gone. "

The compensations for old age appear to be, according to this author, alittle knowledge of grammar, history, astronomy, geography, weights andmeasures, the seven wonders of the world, burning mountains, and dyingwords of great men. But its delightful text must not detain us here. Aseries of "cuts" of national costumes with which it is embellisheddeserves to be described in detail. _An American Man and Woman in theirproper habits_, reproduced on page 6, will give a better idea of theirstyle than any words. The blocks evidently date many years earlier thanthe thirteenth edition here referred to, which is about 1790. Indeed, those of the Seven Wonders are distinctly interesting. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE LITTLE PRINCESS. " BY J. C. HORSLEY, R. A. (JOSEPH CUNDALL. 1843)]

[Illustration:

 I had a little Nut-tree, Nothing would it bear, But a silver nutmeg And a golden pear. 

 The King of Spain's daughter, came to visit me, -- And all because of my little Nut-tree. 

ILLUSTRATION FROM "CHILD'S PLAY. " BY E. V. B. (NOW PUBLISHED BY SAMPSONLOW)]

Here and there we meet with one interesting as art. "An AncestralHistory of King Arthur" (H. Roberts, Blue Boar, Holborn, 1782), shown inthe Pearson collection at South Kensington, has an admirablefrontispiece; and one or two others would be worth reproduction didspace permit. 

Although the dates overlap, the next division of the subject may betaken as ranging from the publication of "Goody Two Shoes--otherwisecalled Mrs. Margaret Two-shoes"--to the "Bewick Books. " Of the latterthe most interesting is unquestionably "A Pretty Book of Pictures forLittle Masters and Misses, or Tommy Trip's History of Beasts and Birds, "with a familiar description of each in verse and prose, to which isprefixed "A History of Little Tom Trip himself, of his dog Towler, andof Coryleg the great giant, " written for John Newbery, the philanthropicbookseller of St. Paul's Churchyard. "The fifteenth edition embellishedwith charming engravings upon wood, from the original blocks engraved byThomas Bewick for T. Saint of Newcastle in 1779"--to quote the fulltitle from the edition reprinted by Edwin Pearson in 1867. This editioncontains a preface tracing the history of the blocks, which are said tobe Bewick's first efforts to depict beasts and birds, undertaken at therequest of the New castle printer, to illustrate a new edition of"Tommy Trip. " As at this time copyright was unknown, and Newcastle orGlasgow pirated a London success (as New York did but lately), we mustnot be surprised to find that the text is said to be a reprint of a"Newbery" publication. But as Saint was called the Newbery of the North, possibly the Bewick edition was authorised. One or two of the rhymeswhich have been attributed to Oliver Goldsmith deserve quotation. Appended to a cut of _The Bison_ we find the following delightful lines:

 "The Bison, tho' neither Engaging nor young, Like a flatt'rer can lick you To death with his tongue. "

The astounding legend of the bison's long tongue, with which he capturesa man who has ventured too close, is dilated upon in the accompanyingprose. That Goldsmith used "teeth" when he meant "tusks" solely for thesake of rhyme is a depressing fact made clear by the next verse:

 "The elephant with trunk and teeth Threatens his foe with instant death, And should these not his ends avail His crushing feet will seldom fail. "

Nor are the rhymes as they stand peculiarly happy; certainly in thefollowing example it requires an effort to make "throw" and "now" pairoff harmoniously. 

 "The fierce, fell tiger will, they say, Seize any man that's in the way, And o'er his back the victim throw, As you your satchel may do now. "

Yet one more deserves to be remembered if but for its decorativespelling:

 "The cuccoo comes to chear the spring, And early every morn does sing; The nightingale, secure and snug, The evening charms with Jug, jug, jug. "

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE HONEY STEW" BY HARRISON WEIR(JEREMIAH HOW. 1846)]

But these doggerel rhymes are not quite representative of the book, asthe well-known "Three children sliding on the ice upon a summer's day"appears herein. The "cuts" are distinctively notable, especially theCrocodile (which contradicts the letterpress, that says "it turns aboutwith difficulty"), the Chameleon, the Bison, and the Tiger. 

Bewick's "Select Fables of Æsop and others" (Newcastle: T. Saint, 1784)deserves fuller notice, but Æsop, though a not unpopular book forchildren, is hardly a children's book. With "The Looking Glass for theMind" (1792) we have the adaptation of a popular French work, "L'Ami desEnfans" (1749), with cuts by Bewick, which, if not equal to his best, are more interesting from our point of view, as they are obviouslydesigned for young people. The letterpress is full of "useful lessonsfor my youthful readers, " with morals provokingly insisted upon. 

"Goody Two Shoes" was also published by Newbery of St. Paul'sChurchyard--the pioneer of children's literature. His business--whichafterwards became Messrs. Griffith and Farran--has been the subject ofseveral monographs and magazine articles by Mr. Charles Welsh, a formerpartner of that firm. The two monographs were privately printed forissue to members of the Sette of Odde Volumes. The first of these isentitled "On some Books for Children of the last century, with a fewwords on the philanthropic publisher of St. Paul's Churchyard. A paperread at a meeting of the Sette of Odde Volumes, Friday, January 8, 1886. " Herein we find a very sympathetic account of John Newbery andgossip of the clever and distinguished men who assisted him in theproduction of children's books, of which Charles Knight said, "There isnothing more remarkable in them than their originality. There have beenattempts to imitate its simplicity, its homeliness; great authors havetried their hands at imitating its clever adaptation to the youthfulintellect, but they have failed"--a verdict which, if true of authorswhen Charles Knight uttered it, is hardly true of the present time. After Goldsmith, Charles Lamb, to whom "Goody Two Shoes" is nowattributed, was, perhaps, the most famous contributor to Newbery'spublications; his "Beauty and the Beast" and "Prince Dorus" have beenrepublished in facsimile lately by Messrs. Field and Tuer. From the_London Chronicle_, December 19 to January 1, 1765, Mr. Welsh reprintedthe following advertisement:

[Illustration: "BLUE BEARD. " ILLUSTRATION FROM "COMIC NURSERY TALES. " BYA. CROWQUILL (G. ROUTLEDGE. 1845)]

[Illustration: "ROBINSON CRUSOE. " ILLUSTRATION FROM "COMIC NURSERYTALES. " BY A. CROWQUILL (G. ROUTLEDGE. 1845)]

"The Philosophers, Politicians, Necromancers, and the learned in everyfaculty are desired to observe that on January 1, being New Year's Day(oh that we may all lead new lives!), Mr. Newbery intends to publish thefollowing important volumes, bound and gilt, and hereby invites all hislittle friends who are good to call for them at the Bible and Sun in St. Paul's Churchyard, but those who are naughty to have none. " The paperread by Mr. Welsh scarcely fulfils the whole promise of its title, forin place of giving anecdotes of Newbery he refers his listeners to hisown volume, "A Bookseller of the Last Century, " for fuller details; butwhat he said in praise of the excellent printing and binding ofNewbery's books is well merited. They are, nearly all, comelyproductions, some with really artistic illustrations, and all markedwith care and intelligence which had not hitherto been bestowed onpublications intended for juveniles. It is true that most aredistinguished for "calculating morality" as the _Athenæum_ called it, inre-estimating their merits nearly a century later. It was a period whenthe advantages of dull moralising were over-prized, when peopleprofessed to believe that you could admonish children to a state ofperfection which, in their didactic addresses to the small folk, theyprofessed to obey themselves. It was, not to put too fine a point on it, an age of solemn hypocrisy, not perhaps so insincere in intention as inphrase; but, all the same, it repels the more tolerant mood of to-day. Whether or not it be wise to confess to the same frailties and letchildren know the weaknesses of their elders, it is certainly morehonest; and the danger is now rather lest the undue humility ofexperience should lead children to believe that they are better thantheir fathers. Probably the honest sympathy now shown to childish idealsis not likely to be misinterpreted, for children are often shrewdjudges, and can detect the false from the true, in morals if not in art. 

By 1800 literature for children had become an established fact. Largenumbers of publications were ostentatiously addressed to theiramusement; but nearly all hid a bitter if wholesome powder in a verysmall portion of jam. Books of educational purport, like "A Father'sLegacy to his Daughter, " with reprints of classics that are heavilyweighted with morals--Dr. Johnson's "Rasselas" and "Æsop's Fables, " forinstance--are in the majority. "Robinson Crusoe" is indeed among them, and Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress, " both, be it noted, books annexed bythe young, not designed for them. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "ROBINSON CRUSOE. " BY CHARLES KEENE(JAMES BURNS. 1847)]

The titles of a few odd books which possess more than usuallyinteresting features may be jotted down. Of these, "Little Thumb and theOgre" (R. Dutton, 1788), with illustrations by William Blake, is easilyfirst in interest, if not in other respects. Others include "The Criesof London" (1775), "Sindbad the Sailor" (Newbery, 1798), "Valentine andOrson" (Mary Rhynd, Clerkenwell, 1804), "Fun at the Fair" (with spiritedcuts printed in red), and Watts's "Divine and Moral Songs, " and "AnAbridged New Testament, " with still more effective designs also in red(Lumsden, Glasgow), "Gulliver's Travels" (greatly abridged, 1815), "Mother Gum" (1805), "Anecdotes of a Little Family" (1795), "Mirthwithout Mischief, " "King Pippin, " "The Daisy" (cautionary stories inverse), and the "Cowslip, " its companion (with delightfully prim littlerhymes that have been reprinted lately). The thirty illustrations ineach are by Samuel Williams, an artist who yet awaits his dueappreciation. A large number of classics of their kind, "The Adventuresof Philip Quarll, " "Gulliver's Travels, " Blake's "Songs of Innocence, "Charles Lamb's "Stories from Shakespeare, " Mrs. Sherwood's "Henry andhis Bearer, " and a host of other religious stories, cannot even beenumerated. But even were it possible to compile a full list ofchildren's books, it would be of little service, for the popular booksare in no danger of being forgotten, and the unpopular, as a rule, havevanished out of existence, and except by pure accident could not befound for love or money. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "COMIC NURSERY TALES" (G. ROUTLEDGE. 1846)]

With the publications of Newbery and Harris, early in the nineteenthcentury, we encounter examples more nearly typical of the child's bookas we regard it to-day. Among them Harris's "Cabinet" is noticeable. The first four volumes, "The Butterfly's Ball, " "The Peacock at Home, ""The Lion's Masquerade, " and "The Elephant's Ball, " were reprinted a fewyears ago, with the original illustrations by Mulready carefullyreproduced. A coloured series of sixty-two books, priced at one shillingand sixpence each (Harris), was extremely popular. 

With the "Paths of Learning strewed with Flowers, or English GrammarIllustrated" (1820), we encounter a work not without elegance. Itsdesigns, as we see by the examples reproduced on page 9, are the obviousprototype of Miss Greenaway, the model that inspired her to those daintytrifles which conquered even so stern a critic of modern illustration asMr. Ruskin. On its cover--a forbidding wrapper devoid of ornament--andrepeated within a wreath of roses inside, this preamble occurs: "Thepurpose of this little book is to obviate the reluctance children evinceto the irksome and insipid task of learning the names and meanings ofthe component parts of grammar. Our intention is to entwine roses withinstruction, and however humble our endeavour may appear, let it berecollected that the efforts of a Mouse set the Lion free from histoils. " This oddly phrased explanation is typical of the affectedgeniality of the governess. Indeed, it might have been penned by anassistant to Miss Pinkerton, "the Semiramis of Hammersmith"; if not bythat friend of Dr. Johnson, the correspondent of Mrs. Chapone herself, in a moment of gracious effort to bring her intellect down to the levelof her pupils. 

To us, this hollow gaiety sounds almost cruel. In those days childrenwere always regarded as if, to quote Mark Twain, "every one being bornwith an equal amount of original sin, the pressure on the square inchmust needs be greater in a baby. " Poor little original sinners, how veryscurvily the world of books and picture-makers treated you less than acentury ago! Life for you then was a perpetual reformatory, a placebeset with penalties, and echoing with reproofs. Even the literatureplanned to amuse your leisure was stuck full of maxims and morals; themost piquant story was but a prelude to an awful warning; pictures ofanimals, places, and rivers failed to conceal undisguised lessons. Theone impression that is left by a study of these books is the lack ofconfidence in their own dignity which papas and mammas betrayed in theearly Victorian era. This seems past all doubt when you realise that thecommon effort of all these pictures and prose is to glorify theimpeccable parent, and teach his or her offspring to grovel silentlybefore the stern law-givers who ruled the home. 

[Illustration: TITLE-PAGE FROM "THE SCOURING OF THE WHITE HORSE. " BYRICHARD DOYLE (MACMILLAN AND CO. 1858)]

Of course it was not really so, literature had but lately come to agreat middle class who had not learned to be easy; and as worthy folkwho talked colloquially wrote in stilted parody of Dr. Johnson's statelyperiods, so the uncouth address in print to the populace of the nurserywas doubtless forgotten in daily intercourse. But the conventions werepreserved, and honest fun or full-bodied romance that loves to depictgnomes and hob-goblins, giants and dwarfs in a world of adventure andmystery, was unpopular. Children's books were illustrated entirely bythe wonders of the creation, or the still greater wonders of so-calledpolite society. Never in them, except introduced purposely as an "awfulexample, " do you meet an untidy, careless, normal child. Even thebeggars are prim, and the beasts and birds distinctly genteel in theirhabits. Fairyland was shut to the little ones, who were turned out oftheir own domain. It seems quite likely that this continued until theGerman _märchen_ (the literary products of Germany were much in favourat this period) reopened the wonderland of the other world about thetime that Charles Dickens helped to throw the door still wider. Discovering that the child possessed the right to be amused, theimagination of poets and artists addressed itself at last to the mostappreciative of all audiences, a world of newcomers, with insatiableappetites for wonders real and imaginary. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION (REDUCED) FROM "MISUNDERSTOOD" BY GEORGE DUMAURIER (RICHARD BENTLEY AND SON. 1874)]

But for many years before the Victorian period folklore was left to thepeasants, or at least kept out of reach of children of the higherclasses. No doubt old nurses prattled it to their charges, perhapsweak-minded mothers occasionally repeated the ancient legends, but theprinting-press set its face against fancy, and offered facts in itsstead. In the list of sixty-two books before mentioned, if we except afew nursery jingles such as "Mother Hubbard" and "Cock Robin, " we findbut two real fairy stories, "Cinderella, " "Puss-in-Boots, " and threeold-world narratives of adventure, "Whittington and His Cat, " "The SevenChampions of Christendom, " and "Valentine and Orson. " The rest are"Peter Piper's Practical Principles of Plain and Perfect Pronunciation, ""The Monthly Monitor, " "Tommy Trip's Museum of Beasts, " "ThePerambulations of a Mouse, " and so on, with a few things like "The Housethat Jack Built, " and "A, Apple Pie, " that are but daily facts put intostory shape. Now it is clear that the artists inspired by fifty of thesehad no chance of displaying their imagination, and every opportunity ofpointing a moral; and it is painful to be obliged to own that theysucceeded beyond belief in their efforts to be dull. Of like sort are "AVisit to the Bazaar" (Harris, 1814), and "The Dandies' Ball" (1820). 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE PRINCESS AND THE GOBLIN. "(STRAHAN. 1871. NOW PUBLISHED BY BLACKIE AND SON)]

Nor must we forget a work very popular at this period, "Keeper inSearch of His Master, " although its illustrations are not its chiefpoint. 

According to a very interesting preface Mr. Andrew Tuer contributed to"The Leadenhall Series of Reprints of Forgotten Books for Children in1813, " "Dame Wiggins of Lee" was first issued by A. K. Newman and Co. Ofthe Minerva Press. This book is perhaps better known than any of itsdate owing to Mr. Ruskin's reprint with additional verses by himself, and new designs by Miss Kate Greenaway supplementing the original cuts, which were re-engraved in facsimile by Mr. Hooper. Mr. Tuer attributesthe design of these latter to R. Stennet (or Sinnet?), who illustratedalso "Deborah Dent and her Donkey" and "Madame Figs' Gala. " Newmanissued many of these books, in conjunction with Messrs. Dean and Mundy, the direct ancestors of the firm of Dean and Son, still flourishing, andstill engaged in providing cheap and attractive books for children. "TheGaping Wide-mouthed Waddling Frog" is another book of about this period, which Mr. Tuer included in his reprints. Among the many illustratedvolumes which bear the imprint of A. K. Newman, and Dean and Mundy, are"A, Apple Pie, " "Aldiborontiphoskyphorniostikos, " "The House that JackBuilt, " "The Parent's Offering for a Good Child" (a very pompous andirritating series of dialogues), and others that are even more directlyeducational. In all these the engravings are in fairly correct outline, coloured with four to six washes of showy crimson lake, ultramarine, pale green, pale sepia, and gamboge. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "GUTTA PERCHA WILLIE. " BY ARTHUR HUGHES(STRAHAN. 1870. NOW PUBLISHED BY BLACKIE AND SON)]

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "AT THE BACK OF THE NORTH WIND. " BYARTHUR HUGHES (STRAHAN. 1869. NOW PUBLISHED BY BLACKIE AND SON)]

Even the dreary text need not have made the illustrators quite so dull, as we know that Randolph Caldecott would have made an illustrated"Bradshaw" amusing; but most of his earlier predecessors show no lesspower in making anything they touched "un-funny. " Nor as art do theirpictures interest you any more than as anecdotes. 

Of course the cost of coloured engravings prohibited their lavish use. All were tinted by hand, sometimes with the help of stencil plates, butmore often by brush. The print colourers, we are told, lived chiefly inthe Pentonville district, or in some of the poorer streets nearLeicester Square. A few survivors are still to be found; but theintroduction first of lithography, and later of photographic processes, has killed the industry, and even the most fanatical apostle of the oldcrafts cannot wish the "hand-painter" back again. The outlines wereeither cut on wood, as in the early days of printing until the present, or else engraved on metal. In each case all colour was paintedafterwards, and in scarce a single instance (not even in the Rowlandsoncaricatures or patriotic pieces) is there any attempt to obtain anharmonious scheme such as is often found in the tinted mezzo-tints ofthe same period. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "AT THE BACK OF THE NORTH WIND. " BYARTHUR HUGHES (STRAHAN. 1869. NOW PUBLISHED BY BLACKIE AND SON)]

Of works primarily intended for little people, an "Hieroglyphical Bible"for the amusement and instruction of the younger generation (1814) maybe noted. This was a mixture of picture-puns and broken words, after thefashion of the dreary puzzles still published in snippet weeklies. It isa melancholy attempt to turn Bible texts to picture puzzles, a bookpermitted by the unco' guid to children on wet Sunday afternoons, assome younger members of large families, whose elder brothers' books yetlingered forty or even fifty years after publication, are able toendorse with vivid and depressed remembrance. Foxe's "Book of Martyrs"and Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" are of the same type, and calculatedto fill a nervous child with grim terrors, not lightened by Watts's"Divine and Moral Songs, " that gloated on the dreadful hell to whichsinful children were doomed, "with devils in darkness, fire and chains. "But this painful side of the subject is not to be discussed here. Luckily the artists--except in the "grown-up" books referredto--disdained to enforce the terrors of Dr. Watts, and pictured lesshorrible themes. 

With Cruikshank we encounter almost the first glimpse of the modernideal. His "Grimm's Fairy Tales" are delightful in themselves, andmarvellous in comparison with all before, and no little after. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE LITTLE WONDER HORN. " BY J. MAHONEY(H. S. KING AND CO. 1872. GRIFFITH AND FARRAN. 1887)]

These famous illustrations to the first selection of Grimm's "GermanPopular Stories" appeared in 1824, followed by a second series in 1826. Coming across this work after many days spent in hunting up children'sbooks of the period, the designs flashed upon one as masterpieces, andfor the first time seemed to justify the great popularity of Cruikshank. For their vigour and brilliant invention, their _diablerie_ and truelocal colour, are amazing when contrasted with what had been previously. Wearied of the excessive eulogy bestowed upon Cruikshank's illustrationsto Dickens, and unable to accept the artist as an illustrator of realcharacters in fiction, when he studies his elfish and other-worldlypersonages, the most grudging critic must needs yield a full tribute ofpraise. The volumes (published by Charles Tilt, of 82 Fleet Street) areextremely rare; for many years past the sale-room has recorded fancyprices for all Cruikshank's illustrations, so that a lover of modern arthas been jealous to note the amount paid for by many extremely poorpictures by this artist, when even original drawings for themasterpieces by later illustrators went for a song. In Mr. TempleScott's indispensable "Book Sales of 1896" we find the two volumes(1823-6) fetched £12 12_s. _

[Illustration: "IN NOOKS WITH BOOKS" AN AUTO-LITHOGRAPH BY R. ANNINGBELL. ]

These must not be confounded with Cruikshank's "Fairy Library"(1847-64), a series of small books in paper wrappers, now exceedinglyrare, which are more distinctly prepared for juvenile readers. Theillustrations to these do not rise above the level of their day, as didthe earlier ones. But this is owing largely to the fact that thestandard had risen far above its old average in the thirty years thathad elapsed. Amid the mass of volumes illustrated by Cruikshankcomparatively few are for juveniles; some of these are: "Grimm's GammerGrethel"; "Peter Schlemihl" (1824); "Christmas Recreation" (1825); "Hansof Iceland" (1825); "German Popular Stories" (1823); "Robinson Crusoe"(1831); "The Brownies" (1870); "Loblie-by-the-Fire" (1874); "Tom Thumb"(1830); and "John Gilpin" (1828). 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "SPEAKING LIKENESSES. " BY ARTHUR HUGHES(MACMILLAN AND CO. 1874)]

The works of Richard Doyle (1824-1883) enjoy in a lesser degree the sortof inflated popularity which has gathered around those of Cruikshank. With much spirit and pleasant invention, Doyle lacked academic skill, and often betrays considerable weakness, not merely in composition, butin invention. Yet the qualities which won him reputation are by no meansdespicable. He evidently felt the charm of fairyland, and peopled itwith droll little folk who are neither too human nor too unreal to beattractive. He joined the staff of _Punch_ when but nineteen, and soon, by his political cartoons, and his famous "Manners and Customs of y^eEnglish drawn from y^e Quick, " became an established favourite. Hisdesign for the cover of _Punch_ is one of his happiest inventions. Sohighly has he been esteemed that the National Gallery possesses one ofhis pictures, _The Triumphant Entry; a Fairy Pageant_. Children's bookswith his illustrations are numerous; perhaps the most important are "TheEnchanted Crow" (1871), "Feast of Dwarfs" (1871), "Fortune's Favourite"(1871), "The Fairy Ring" (1845), "In Fairyland" (1870), "Merry Pictures"(1857), "Princess Nobody" (1884), "Mark Lemon's Fairy Tales" (1868), "AJuvenile Calendar" (1855), "Fairy Tales from all Nations" (1849), "SnowWhite and Rosy Red" (1871), Ruskin's "The King of the Golden River"(1884), Hughes's "Scouring of the White Horse" (1859), "Jack the GiantKiller" (1888), "Home for the Holidays" (1887), "The Whyte Fairy Book"(1893). The three last are, of course, posthumous publications. 

Still confining ourselves to the pre-Victorian period, although theworks in question were popular several decades later, we find "Sandfordand Merton" (first published in 1783, and constantly reprinted), "TheSwiss Family Robinson, " the beginning of "Peter Parley's Annals, " and avast number of other books with the same pseudonym appended, and a hostof didactic works, a large number of which contained pictures of animalsand other natural objects, more or less well drawn. But the pictures inthese are not of any great consequence, merely reflecting the averagetaste of the day, and very seldom designed from a child's point of view. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "UNDINE. " BY SIR JOHN TENNIEL (JAMESBURNS. 1845)]

This very inadequate sketch of the books before 1837 is not curtailedfor want of material, but because, despite the enormous amount, very fewshow attempts to please the child; to warn, to exhort, or to educate aretheir chief aims. Occasionally a Bewick or an artist of real power ismet with, but the bulk is not only dull, but of small artistic value. That the artist's name is rarely given must not be taken as a sign thatonly inept draughtsmen were employed, for in works of real importance upto and even beyond this date we often find his share ignored. After atime the engraver claims to be considered, and by degrees the designeris also recognised; yet for the most part illustration was looked uponmerely as "jam" to conceal the pill. The old Puritan conception of artas vanity had something to do with this, no doubt; for adults oftendemand that their children shall obey a sterner rule of life than thatwhich they accept themselves. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "ELLIOTT'S NURSERY RHYMES" BY W. J. WIEGAND (NOVELLO, 1870)]

Before passing on, it is as well to summarise this preamble and todiscover how far children's books had improved when her Majesty came tothe throne. The old woodcut, rough and ill-drawn, had been succeeded bythe masterpieces of Bewick, and the respectable if dull achievements ofhis followers. In the better class of books were excellent designs byartists of some repute fairly well engraved. Colouring by hand, in aprimitive fashion, was applied to these prints and to impressions fromcopperplates. A certain prettiness was the highest aim of most of thelatter, and very few were designed only to amuse a child. It seems as ifall concerned were bent on unbending themselves, careful to offer grainsof truth to young minds with an occasional terrible falsity of theirattitude; indeed, its satire and profound analysis make it superfluousto reopen the subject. As one might expect, the literature, "genteel"and dull, naturally desired pictures in the same key. The art of eventhe better class of children's books was satisfied if it succeeded inbeing "genteel, " or, as Miss Limpenny would say, "cumeelfo. " Its idealreached no higher, and sometimes stopped very far below that modeststandard. This is the best (with the few exceptions already noted) onecan say of pre-Victorian illustration for children. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "ELLIOTT'S NURSERY RHYMES" BY H. STACYMARKS, R. A. (NOVELLO. 1870)]

If there is one opinion deeply rooted in the minds of the comparativelyfew Britons who care for art, it is a distrust of "The Cole Gang ofSouth Kensington;" and yet if there be one fact which confronts anystudent of the present revival of the applied arts, it is that sooner orlater you come to its first experiments inspired or actually undertakenby Sir Henry Cole. Under the pseudonym of "Felix Summerley" we find thatthe originator of a hundred revivals of the applied arts, projected andissued a series of children's books which even to-day are decidedlyworth praise. It is the fashion to trace everything to Mr. WilliamMorris, but in illustrations for children as in a hundred others "FelixSummerley" was setting the ball rolling when Morris and the members ofthe famous firm were schoolboys. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE WATER BABIES" BY SIR R. NOEL PATON(MACMILLAN AND CO. 1863)]

To quote from his own words: "During this period (_i. E. _, about 1844), my young children becoming numerous, their wants induced me to publish arather long series of books, which constituted 'Summerley's HomeTreasury, ' and I had the great pleasure of obtaining the welcomeassistance of some of the first artists of the time in illustratingthem--Mulready, R. A. , Cope, R. A. , Horsley, R. A. , Redgrave, R. A. , Webster, R. A. , Linnell and his three sons, John, James, and William, H. J. Townsend, and others.... The preparation of these books gave mepractical knowledge in the technicalities of the arts of type-printing, lithography, copper and steel-plate engraving and printing, andbookbinding in all its varieties in metal, wood, leather, &c. "

Copies of the books in question appear to be very rare. It is doubtfulif the omnivorous British Museum has swallowed a complete set; certainlyat the Art Library of South Kensington Museum, where, if anywhere, wemight expect to find Sir Henry Cole completely represented, many gapsoccur. 

How far Mr. Joseph Cundall, the publisher, should be awarded a share ofthe credit for the enterprise is not apparent, but his publications andwritings, together with the books issued later by Cundall and Addey, areall marked with the new spirit, which so far as one can discover wasworking in many minds at this time, and manifested itself mostconspicuously through the Pre-Raphaelites and their allies. This alltook place, it must be remembered, long before 1851. We forget oftenthat if that exhibition has any important place in the art history ofGreat Britain, it does but prove that much preliminary work had beenalready accomplished. You cannot exhibit what does not exist; you cannoteven call into being "exhibition specimens" at a few months notice, ifsomething of the same sort, worked for ordinary commerce, has notalready been in progress for years previously. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE ROYAL UMBRELLA. " BY LINLEYSAMBOURNE (GRIFFITH AND FARRAN. 1880)]

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "ON A PINCUSHION. " BY WILLIAM DE MORGAN(SEELEY, JACKSON AND HALLIDAY. 1877)]

Almost every book referred to has been examined anew for the purposes ofthis article. As a whole they might fail to impress a critic notpeculiarly interested in the matter. But if he tries to project himselfto the period that produced them, and realises fully the enormousimportance of first efforts, he will not estimate grudgingly theirintrinsic value, but be inclined to credit them with the good thingsthey never dreamed of, as well as those they tried to realise and oftenfailed to achieve. Here, without any prejudice for or against the SouthKensington movement, it is but common justice to record Sir Henry Cole'sshare in the improvement of children's books; and later on his effortson behalf of process engraving must also not be forgotten. 

To return to the books in question, some extracts from the originalprospectus, which speaks of them as "purposed to cultivate theAffections, Fancy, Imagination, and Taste of Children, " are worthquotation:

"The character of most children's books published during the lastquarter of a century, is fairly typified in the name of Peter Parley, which the writers of some hundreds of them have assumed. The booksthemselves have been addressed after a narrow fashion, almost entirelyto the cultivation of the understanding of children. The many tales sungor said from time to time immemorial, which appealed to the other, andcertainly not less important elements of a little child's mind, itsfancy, imagination, sympathies, affections, are almost all gone out ofmemory, and are scarcely to be obtained. 'Little Red Riding Hood, ' andother fairy tales hallowed to children's use, are now turned intoribaldry as satires for men; as for the creation of a new fairy tale ortouching ballad, such a thing is unheard of. That the influence of allthis is hurtful to children, the conductor of this series firmlybelieves. He has practical experience of it every day in his own family, and he doubts not that there are many others who entertain the sameopinions as himself. He purposes at least to give some evidence of hisbelief, and to produce a series of works, the character of which may bebriefly described as anti-Peter Parleyism. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE NECKLACE OF PRINCESS FIORIMONDE. "BY WALTER CRANE (MACMILLAN AND CO. 1880)]

"Some will be new works, some new combinations of old materials, andsome reprints carefully cleared of impurities, without deterioration tothe points of the story. All will be illustrated, but not after theusual fashion of children's books, in which it seems to be assumed thatthe lowest kind of art is good enough to give first impressions to achild. In the present series, though the statement may perhaps excite asmile, the illustrations will be selected from the works of Raffaelle, Titian, Hans Holbein, and other old masters. Some of the best modernartists have kindly promised their aid in creating a taste for beauty inlittle children. " Did space permit, a selection from the reviews of thechief literary papers that welcomed the new venture would beinstructive. There we should find that even the most cautious critic, always "hedging" and playing for safety, felt compelled to accord acertain amount of praise to the new enterprise. 

It is true that "Felix Summerley" created only one type of the modernbook. Possibly the "stories turned into satires" to which he alludes arethe entirely amusing volumes by F. H. Bayley, the author of "A New Taleof a Tub. " As it happened that these volumes were my delight as a smallboy, possibly I am unduly fond of them; but it seems to me that theirhumour--_à la_ Ingoldsby, it is true--and their exuberantly comicdrawings, reveal the first glimpses of lighter literature addressedspecially to children, that long after found its masterpieces in the"Crane" and "Greenaway" and "Caldecott" Toy Books, in "Alice inWonderland, " and in a dozen other treasured volumes, which are nowclassics. The chief claim for the Home Treasury series to be consideredas the advance guard of our present sumptuous volumes, rests not so muchupon the quality of their designs or the brightness of their literature. Their chief importance is that in each of them we find for the firsttime that the externals of a child's book are most carefully considered. Its type is well chosen, the proportions of its page are evidentlystudied, its binding, even its end-papers, show that some one person wasdoing his best to attain perfection. It is this conscious effort, whatever it actually realised, which distinguishes the result from allbefore. 

It is evident that the series--the Home Treasury--took itself seriously. Its purpose was Art with a capital A--a discovery, be it noted, of thisperiod. Sir Henry Cole, in a footnote to the very page whence thequotation above was extracted, discusses the first use of "Art" as anadjective denoting the _Fine_ Arts. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "HOUSEHOLD STORIES FROM GRIMM. " BYWALTER CRANE (MACMILLAN AND CO. 1882)]

Here it is more than ever difficult to keep to the thread of thisdiscourse. All that South Kensington did and failed to do, the æstheticmovement of the eighties, the new gospel of artistic salvation byLiberty fabrics and De Morgan tiles, the erratic changes of fashion intaste, the collapse of Gothic architecture, the triumph of Queen Anne, and the Arts and Crafts movement of the nineties--in short, all thestory of Art in the last fifty years, from the new Law Courts to theTate Gallery, from Felix Summerley to a Hollyer photograph, from theintroduction of glyptography to the pictures in the _Daily Chronicle_, demand notice. But the door must be shut on the turbulent throng, andonly children's books allowed to pass through. 

The publications by "Felix Summerley, " according to the list in "FiftyYears of Public Work, " by Sir Henry Cole, K. C. B. (Bell, 1884), include:"Holbein's Bible Events, " eight pictures, coloured by Mr. Linnell'ssons, 4_s. _ 6_d. _; "Raffaelle's Bible Events, " six pictures from theLoggia, drawn on stone by Mr. Linnell's children and coloured by them, 5_s. _ 6_d. _; "Albert Dürer's Bible Events, " six pictures from Dürer's"Small Passion, " coloured by the brothers Linnell; "Traditional NurserySongs, " containing eight pictures; "The Beggars coming to Town, " by C. W. Cope, R. A. ; "By, O my Baby!" by R. Redgrave, R. A. ; "Mother Hubbard, "by T. Webster, R. A. ; "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, " "Sleepy Head, " "Up in a Basket, ""Cat asleep by the Fire, " by John Linnell, 4_s. _ 6_d. _, coloured; "TheBallad of Sir Hornbook, " by Thos. Love Peacock, with eight pictures byH. Corbould, coloured, 4_s. _ 6_d. _ (A book with the same title, alsodescribed as a "grammatico-allegorical ballad, " was published by N. Haites in 1818. ) "Chevy Chase, " with music and four pictures byFrederick Tayler, President of the Water-Colour Society, coloured, 4_s. _6_d. _; "Puck's Reports to Oberon"; Four new Faëry Tales: "The Sisters, ""Golden Locks, " "Grumble and Cherry, " "Arts and Arms, " by C. A. Cole, with six pictures by J. H. Townsend, R. Redgrave, R. A. , J. C. Horsley, R. A. , C. W. Cope, R. A. , and F. Tayler; "Little Red Riding Hood, " withfour pictures by Thos. Webster, coloured, 3_s. _ 6_d. _; "Beauty and theBeast, " with four pictures by J. C. Horsley, R. A. , coloured, 3_s. _6_d. _; "Jack and the Bean Stalk, " with four pictures by C. W. Cope, R. A. , coloured, 3_s. _ 6_d. _; "Cinderella, " with four pictures by E. H. Wehnert, coloured, 3_s. _ 6_d. _; "Jack the Giant Killer, " with fourpictures by C. W. Cope, coloured, 3_s. _ 6_d. _; "The Home TreasuryPrimer, " printed in colours, with drawing on zinc, by W. Mulready, R. A. ;"Alphabets of Quadrupeds, " selected from the works of Paul Potter, Karldu Jardin, Teniers, Stoop, Rembrandt, &c. , and drawn from nature; "ThePleasant History of Reynard the Fox, " with forty of the fifty-sevenetchings made by Everdingen in 1752, coloured, 31_s. _ 6_d. _; "A Centuryof Fables, " with pictures by the old masters. 

To this list should be added--if it is not by "Felix Summerley, " it isevidently conceived by the same spirit and published also byCundall--"Gammer Gurton's Garland, " by Ambrose Merton, withillustrations by T. Webster and others. This was also issued as a seriesof sixpenny books, of which Mr. Elkin Mathews owns a nearly completeset, in their original covers of gold and coloured paper. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "A WONDER BOOK FOR GIRLS AND BOYS. "

BY WALTER CRANE (OSGOOD, MCILVAINE AND CO. 1892)]

It would be very easy to over-estimate the intrinsic merit of thesebooks, but when you consider them as pioneers it would be hard toover-rate the importance of the new departure. To enlist the talent ofthe most popular artists of the period, and produce volumes printed inthe best style of the Chiswick Press, with bindings and end-papersspecially designed, and the whole "get up" of the book carefullyconsidered, was certainly a bold innovation in the early forties. Thatit failed to be a profitable venture one may deduce from the fact thatthe "Felix Summerley" series did not run to many volumes, and that thefirm who published them, after several changes, seems to have expired, or more possibly was incorporated with some other venture. The booksthemselves are forgotten by most booksellers to-day, as I havediscovered from many fruitless demands for copies. 

The little square pamphlets by F. H. Bayley, to which allusion hasalready been made, include "Blue Beard;" "Robinson Crusoe, " and "RedRiding Hood, " all published about 1845-6. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE QUEEN OF THE PIRATE ISLE. " BY KATEGREENAWAY (EDMUND EVANS. 1887)]

Whether "The Sleeping Beauty, " then announced as in preparation, waspublished, I do not know. Their rhyming chronicle in the style of the"Ingoldsby Legends" is neatly turned, and the topical allusions, although out of date now, are not sufficiently frequent to make itunintelligible. The pictures (possibly by Alfred Crowquill) areconceived in a spirit of burlesque, and are full of ingenious conceitsand no little grim vigour. The design of Robinson Crusoe roosting in atree--

 And so he climbs up a very tall tree, And fixes himself to his comfort and glee, Hung up from the end of a branch by his breech, Quite out of all mischievous quadrupeds' reach. A position not perfectly easy 't is true, But yet at the same time consoling and new--

reproduced on p. 13, shows the wilder humour of the illustrations. Another of Blue Beard, and one of the wolf suffering from undigestedgrandmother, are also given. They need no comment, except to note thatin the originals, printed on a coloured tint with the high lights leftwhite, the ferocity of Blue Beard is greatly heightened. The wolf, "ashe lay there brimful of grandmother and guilt, " is one of the best ofthe smaller pictures in the text. 

Other noteworthy books which appeared about this date are Mrs. FelixSummerley's "Mother's Primer, " illustrated by W. M[ulready?], Longmans, 1843; "Little Princess, " by Mrs. John Slater, 1843, with six charminglithographs by J. C. Horsley, R. A. (one of which is reproduced on p. 11); the "Honey Stew, " of the Countess Bertha Jeremiah How, 1846, withcoloured plates by Harrison Weir; "Early Days of English Princes, " withcapital illustrations by John Franklin; and a series of Pleasant Booksfor Young Children, 6_d. _ plain and 1_s. _ coloured, published by Cundalland Addey. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "LITTLE FOLKS" BY KATE GREENAWAY(CASSELL AND CO. )]

In 1846 appeared a translation of De La Motte Fouqué's romances, "Undine" being illustrated by John Tenniel, jun. , and the followingvolumes by J. Franklin, H. C. Selous, and other artists. The Tennieldesigns, as the frontispiece reproduced on p. 20 shows clearly, areinteresting both in themselves and as the earliest published work of thefamous _Punch_ cartoonist. The strong German influence they show is alsoapparent in nearly all the decorations. "The Juvenile Verse and PictureBook" (1848), also contains designs by Tenniel, and others by W. B. Scott and Sir John Gilbert. The ideal they established is maintainedmore or less closely for a long period. "Songs for Children" (W. S. Orr, 1850); "Young England's Little Library" (1851); Mrs. S. C. Hall's"Number One, " with pictures by John Absolon (1854); "Stories aboutDogs, " with "plates by Thomas Landseer" (Bogue, _c. _ 1850); "The ThreeBears, " illustrated by Absolon and Harrison Weir (Addey and Co. , nodate); "Nursery Poetry" (Bell and Daldy, 1859), may be noted as typicalexamples of this period. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN" BY KATEGREENAWAY (EDMUND EVANS)]

In "Granny's Story Box" (Piper, Stephenson, and Spence, about 1855), amost delicious collection of fairy tales illustrated by J. Knight, wefind the author in his preface protesting against the opinion of asupposititious old lady who "thought all fairy tales were abolishedyears ago by Peter Parley and the _Penny Magazine_. " These fancifulstories deserve to be republished, for they are not old-fashioned, evenif their pictures are. 

To what date certain delightfully printed little volumes, issued byTabart and Co. , 157 Bond Street, may be ascribed I know not--probablysome years before the time we are considering, but they must not beoverlooked. The title of one, "Mince Pies for Christmas, " suggests thatit is not very far before, for the legend of Christmas festivities hadnot long been revived for popular use. 

"The Little Lychetts, " by the author of "John Halifax, " illustrated byHenry Warren, President of the New Society of Painters in Water-Colours(now the R. I. ) is remarkable for the extremely uncomely type of childrenit depicts; yet that its charm is still vivid, despite its "severe"illustrations, you have but to lend it to a child to be convincedquickly. 

"Jack's Holiday, " by Albert Smith (undated), suggests a new field ofresearch which might lead us astray, as Smith's humour is more oftenaddressed primarily to adults. Indeed, the effort to make this chronicleeven representative, much less exhaustive, breaks down in the fifties, when so much good yet not very exhilarating material is to be found inevery publisher's list. John Leech in "The Silver Swan" of Mdme. DeChatelaine; Charles Keene in "The Adventures of Dick Bolero" (Darton, nodate), and "Robinson Crusoe" (drawn upon for illustration here), andothers of the _Punch_ artists, should find their works duly cataloguedeven in this hasty sketch; but space compels scant justice to manyartists of the period, yet if the most popular are left unnoticed suchomission will more easily right itself to any reader interested in thesubject. 

Many show influences of the Gothic revival which was then in the air, but only those which have some idea of book decoration as opposed toinserted pictures. For a certain "formal" ornamentation of the page wasin fashion in the "forties" and "fifties, " even as it is to-day. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "CAPE TOWN DICKY" BY ALICE HAVERS (C. W. FAULKNER AND CO. )]

To the artists named as representative of this period one must notforget to add Mr. Birket Foster, who devoted many of his felicitousstudies of English pastoral life to the adornment of children's books. But speaking broadly of the period from the Queen's Accession to 1865, except that the subjects are of a sort supposed to appeal to youngminds, their conception differs in no way from the work of the sameartists in ordinary literature. The vignettes of scenery have childishinstead of grown-up figures in the foregrounds; the historical orlegendary figures are as seriously depicted in the one class of books asin the other. Humour is conspicuous by its absence--or, to be moreaccurate, the humour is more often in the accompanying anecdote than inthe picture. Probably if the authorship of hundreds of the illustrationsof "Peter Parley's Annuals" and other books of this period could betraced, artists as famous as Charles Keene might be found to havecontributed. But, owing to the mediocre wood-engraving employed, or tothe poor printing, the pictures are singularly unattractive. As a rule, they are unsigned and appear to be often mere pot-boilers--some no doubtintentionally disowned by the designer--others the work of 'prenticehands who afterwards became famous. Above all they are, essentially, illustrations to children's books only because they chanced to beprinted therein, and have sometimes done duty in "grown-up" books first. Hence, whatever their artistic merits, they do not appeal to a studentof our present subject. They are accidentally present in books forchildren, but essentially they belong to ordinary illustrations. 

Indeed, speaking generally, the time between "Felix Summerley" and_Walter Crane_, which saw two Great Exhibitions and witnessed manyadvances in popular illustration, was too much occupied with cateringfor adults to be specially interested in juveniles. Hence, notwithstanding the names of "illustrious illustrators" to be found ontheir title-pages, no great injustice will be done if we leave thisperiod and pass on to that which succeeded it. For the Great Exhibitionfostered the idea that a smattering of knowledge of a thousand and onesubjects was good. Hence the chastened gaiety of its mildly technicalscience, its popular manuals by Dr. Dionysius Lardner, and its return inanother form to the earlier ideal that amusement should be combined withinstruction. All sorts of attempts were initiated to make Astronomypalatable to babies, Botany an amusing game for children, Conchology aparlour pastime, and so on through the alphabet of sciences down toZoology, which is never out of favour with little ones, even if itspictures be accompanied by a dull encylopædia of fact. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE WHITE SWANS" BY ALICE HAVERS (_Bypermission of Mr. Albert Hildesheimer_)]

Therefore, except so far as the work of certain illustrators, hereafternoticed, touches this period, we may leave it; not because it isunworthy of most serious attention, for in Sir John Gilbert, BirketFoster, Harrison Weir, and the rest, we have men to reckon with whenevera chronicle of English illustration is in question, but only becausethey did not often feel disposed to make their work merely amusing. Insaying this it is not suggested that they should have tried to be alwayshumorous or archaic, still less to bring down their talent to thesupposed level of a child; but only to record the fact that they didnot. For instance, Sir John Gilbert's spirited compositions to a "Boy'sBook of Ballads" (Bell and Daldy) as you see them mixed with other ofthe master's work in the reference scrap-books of the publishers, do notat once separate themselves from the rest as "juvenile" pictures. 

Nor as we approach the year 1855 (of the "Music Master"), and 1857 (whenthe famous edition of Tennyson's Poems began a series of superblyillustrated books), do we find any immediate change in the illustrationof children's books. The solitary example of Sir Edward Burne-Jones'sefforts in this direction, in the frontispiece and title-page toMaclaren's "The Fairy Family" (Longmans, 1857), does not affect thisstatement. But soon after, as the school of Walker and Pinwell becamepopular, there is a change in books of all sorts, and Millais and ArthurHughes, two of the three illustrators of the notable "Music Master, "come into our list of children's artists. At this point the attempt toweave a chronicle of children's books somewhat in the date of theirpublication must give way to a desultory notice of the most prominentillustrators. For we have come to the beginning of to-day rather thanthe end of yesterday, and can regard the "sixties" onwards as part ofthe present. 

It is true that the Millais of the wonderful designs to "The Parables"more often drew pictures of children than of children's pet themes, butall the same they are entirely lovable, and appeal equally to childrenof all ages. But his work in this field is scanty; nearly all will befound in "Little Songs for me to Sing" (Cassell), or in "Lilliput Levee"(1867), and these latter had appeared previously in _Good Words_. OfArthur Hughes's work we will speak later. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE RED FAIRY BOOK. " BY LANCELOT SPEED(LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. )]

Another artist whose work bulks large in our subject--Arthur BoydHoughton--soon appears in sight, and whether he depicted babies at playas in "Home Thoughts and Home Scenes, " a book of thirty-five pictures oflittle people, or imagined the scenes of stories dear to them in "TheArabian Nights, " or books like "Ernie Elton" or "The Boy Pilgrims, "written especially for them, in each he succeeded in winning theirhearts, as every one must admit who chanced in childhood to possess hiswork. So much has been printed lately of the artist and his work, thathere a bare reference will suffice. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE RED FAIRY BOOK. " BY LANCELOT SPEED(LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. )]

Arthur Hughes, whose work belongs to many of the periods touched upon inthis rambling chronicle, may be called _the_ children's"black-and-white" artist of the "sixties" (taking the date broadly ascomprising the earlier "seventies" also), even as Walter Crane is their"limner in colours. " His work is evidently conceived with the seriousmake-believe that is the very essence of a child's imagination. He seemsto put down on paper the very spirit of fancy. Whether as an artist heis fully entitled to the rank some of his admirers (of whom I am one)would claim, is a question not worth raising here--the future willsettle that for us. But as a children's illustrator he is surelyillustrator-in-chief to the Queen of the Fairies, and to a wholegeneration of readers of "Tom Brown's Schooldays" also. Hiscontributions to "Good Words for the Young" would alone entitle him tohigh eminence. In addition to these, which include many stories perhapsbetter known in book form, such as: "The Boy in Grey" (H. Kingsley), George Macdonald's "At the Back of the North Wind, " "The Princess andthe Goblin, " "Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood, " "Gutta-Percha Willie" (thesefour were published by Strahan, and now may be obtained in reprintsissued by Messrs. Blackie), and "Lilliput Lectures" (a book of essaysfor children by Matthew Browne), we find him as sole illustrator ofChristina Rossetti's "Sing Song, " "Five Days' Entertainment at WentworthGrange, " "Dealings with the Fairies, " by George Macdonald (a very scarcevolume nowadays), and the chief contributor to the first illustratededition of "Tom Brown's Schooldays. " In Novello's "National NurseryRhymes" are also several of his designs. 

This list, which occupies so small a space, represents several hundreddesigns, all treated in a manner which is decorative (although iteschews the Dürer line), but marked by strong "colour. " Indeed, Mr. Hughes's technique is all his own, and if hard pressed one might ownthat in certain respects it is not impeccable. But if his textures arenot sufficiently differentiated, or even if his drawing appears carelessat times--both charges not to be admitted without vigorousprotest--granting the opponent's view for the moment, it would beimpossible to find the same peculiar tenderness and naïve fancy in thework of any other artist. His invention seems inexhaustible and hiscomposition singularly fertile: he can create "bogeys" as well as"fairies. "

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE RED FAIRY BOOK. " BY LANCELOT SPEED(LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. )]

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "DOWN THE SNOW STAIRS. " BY GORDONBROWNE (BLACKIE AND SON)]

It is true that his children are related to the sexless idealised raceof Sir Edward Burne-Jones's heroes and heroines; they are purged ofearthy taint, and idealised perhaps a shade too far. They adoptattitudes graceful if not realistic, they have always a grave serenityof expression; and yet withal they endear themselves in a way whollytheir own. It is strange that a period which has bestowed so muchappreciation on the work of the artists of "the sixties" has seen noknight-errant with "Arthur Hughes" inscribed on his banner--noexhibition of his black-and-white work, no craze in auction-rooms forfirst editions of books he illustrated. He has, however, a steady iflimited band of very faithful devotees, and perhaps--so inconsistent arewe all--they love his work all the better because the blast ofpopularity has not trumpeted its merits to all and sundry. 

Three artists, often coupled together--Walter Crane, Randolph Caldecott, and Kate Greenaway--have really little in common, except that they alldesigned books for children which were published about the same period. For Walter Crane is the serious apostle of art for the nursery, whostrove to beautify its ideal, to decorate its legends with a realknowledge of architecture and costume, and to "mount" the fairy storieswith a certain archæological splendour, as Sir Henry Irving has sethimself to mount Shakespearean drama. Caldecott was a fine literaryartist, who was able to express himself with rare facility in picturesin place of words, so that his comments upon a simple text revealendless subtleties of thought. Indeed, he continued to make a fairlylogical sequence of incidents out of the famous nonsense paragraphinvented to confound mnemonics by its absolute irrelevancy. MissGreenaway's charm lies in the fact that she first recognised quaintnessin what had been considered merely "old fashion, " and continued toinfuse it with a glamour that made it appear picturesque. Had shedressed her figures in contemporary costume most probably her work wouldhave taken its place with the average, and never obtained more thancommon popularity. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "ROBINSON CRUSOE" BY GORDON BROWNE

(BLACKIE AND SON)]

But Mr. Walter Crane is almost unique in his profound sympathy with thefantasies he imagines. There is no trace of make-believe in his designs. On the contrary, he makes the old legends become vital, not because ofthe personalities he bestows on his heroes and fairy princesses--hispeople move often in a rapt ecstasy--but because the adjuncts of his_mise-en-scènes_ are realised intimately. His prince is much more thetypical hero than any particular person; his fair ladies might exchangeplaces, and few would notice the difference; but when it comes to theenvironment, the real incidents of the story, then no one has more fullygrasped both the dramatic force and the local colour. If his people arenot peculiarly alive, they are in harmony with the re-edified cities andwoods that sprang up under his pencil. He does not bestow the hoarytouch of antiquity on his mediæval buildings; they are all new andcomely, in better taste probably than the actual buildings, but not moreidealised than are his people. He is the true artist of fairyland, because he recognises its practical possibilities, and yet does not losethe glamour which was never on sea or land. No artist could give morecultured notions of fairyland. In his work the vulgar glories of apantomime are replaced by well-conceived splendour; the tawdry adjunctsof a throne-room, as represented in a theatre, are ignored. Temples andpalaces of the early Renaissance, filled with graceful--perhaps a shadetoo suave--figures, embody all the charm of the impossible country, withnone of the sordid drawbacks that are common to real life. In moderndress, as in his pictures to many of Mrs. Molesworth's stories, there isa certain unlikeness to life as we know it, which does not detract fromthe effect of the design; but while this is perhaps distracting instories of contemporary life, it is a very real advantage in those offolk-lore, which have no actual date, and are therefore unafraid ofanachronisms of any kind. The spirit of his work is, as it should be, intensely serious, yet the conceits which are showered upon it exactlyharmonise with the mood of most of the stories that have attracted hispencil. Grimm's "Household Stories, " as he pictured them, are a lastingjoy. The "Bluebeard" and "Jack and the Beanstalk" toy books, the"Princess Belle Etoile, " and a dozen others are nursery classics, andclassics also of the other nursery where children of a larger growthtake their pleasure. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "ROBINSON CRUSOE. " BY WILL PAGET. (CASSELL AND CO. )]

Without a shade of disrespect towards all the other artists representedin this special number, had it been devoted solely to Mr. Walter Crane'sdesigns, it would have been as interesting in every respect. There isprobably not a single illustrator here mentioned who would not endorsesuch a statement. For as a maker of children's books, no one everattempted the task he fulfilled so gaily, and no one since has beatenhim on his own ground. Even Mr. Howard Pyle, his most worthy rival, hasgiven us no wealth of colour-prints. So that the famous toy books stillretain their well-merited position as the most delightful books for thenursery and the studio, equally beloved by babies and artists. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "ENGLISH FAIRY TALES" BY J. D. BATTEN(DAVID NUTT)]

Although a complete iconography of Mr. Walter Crane's work has not yetbeen made, the following list of such of his children's books as I havebeen able to trace may be worth printing for the benefit of those whohave not access to the British Museum; where, by the way, many are notincluded in that section of its catalogue devoted to "Crane, Walter. "

[Illustration: "SO LIGHT OF FOOT, SO LIGHT OF SPIRIT. " BY CHARLESROBINSON]

The famous series of toy books by Walter Crane include: "The Railroad AB C, " "The Farmyard A B C, " "Sing a Song of Sixpence, " "The WaddlingFrog, " "The Old Courtier, " "Multiplication in Verse, " "Chattering Jack, ""How Jessie was Lost, " "Grammar in Rhyme, " "Annie and Jack in London, ""One, Two, Buckle my Shoe, " "The Fairy Ship, " "Adventures of Puffy, ""This Little Pig went to Market, " "King Luckieboy's Party, " "Noah's ArkAlphabet, " "My Mother, " "The Forty Thieves, " "The Three Bears, ""Cinderella, " "Valentine and Orson, " "Puss in Boots, " "Old MotherHubbard, " "The Absurd A B C, " "Little Red Riding Hood, " "Jack andthe Beanstalk, " "Blue Beard, " "Baby's Own Alphabet, " "The SleepingBeauty. " All these were published at sixpence. A larger series at oneshilling includes: "The Frog Prince, " "Goody Two Shoes, " "Beauty and theBeast, " "Alphabet of Old Friends, " "The Yellow Dwarf, " "Aladdin, " "TheHind in the Wood, " and "Princess Belle Etoile. " All these were publishedfrom 1873 onwards by Routledge, and printed in colours by Edmund Evans. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "ENGLISH FAIRY TALES. " BY J. D. BATTEN(DAVID NUTT)]

A small quarto series Routledge published at five shillings includes:"The Baby's Opera, " "The Baby's Bouquet, " "The Baby's Own Æsop. " Anotherand larger quarto, "Flora's Feast" (1889), and "Queen Summer" (1891), were both published by Cassells, who issued also "Legends for Lionel"(1887). "Pan Pipes, " an oblong folio with music was issued by Routledge. Messrs. Marcus Ward produced "Slate and Pencilvania, " "Pothooks andPerseverance, " "Romance of the Three Rs, " "Little Queen Anne" (1885-6), Hawthorne's "A Wonder Book, " first published in America, is a quartovolume with elaborate designs in colour; and "The Golden Primer" (1884), two vols. , by Professor Meiklejohn (Blackwood) is, like all the above, in colour. 

Of a series of stories by Mrs. Molesworth the following volumes areillustrated by Mr. Crane:--"A Christmas Posy" (1888), "Carrots" (1876), "A Christmas Child" (1886), "Christmas-tree Land" (1884), "The CuckooClock" (1877), "Four Winds Farm" (1887), "Grandmother Dear" (1878), "Herr Baby" (1881), "Little Miss Peggy" (1887), "The Rectory Children"(1889), "Rosy" (1882), "The Tapestry Room" (1879), "Tell me a Story, ""Two Little Waifs, " "Us" (1885), and "Children of the Castle" (1890). Earlier in date are "Stories from Memel" (1864), "Stories of Old, ""Children's Sayings" (1861), two series, "Poor Match" (1861), "The MerryHeart, " with eight coloured plates (Cassell); "King Gab's Story Bag"(Cassell), "Magic of Kindness" (1869), "Queen of the Tournament, ""History of Poor Match, " "Our Uncle's Old Home" (1872), "Sunny Days"(1871), "The Turtle Dove's Nest" (1890). Later come "The Necklace ofPrincess Fiorimonde" (1880), the famous edition of Grimm's "HouseholdStories" (1882), both published by Macmillan, and C. C. Harrison's "Folkand Fairy Tales" (1885), "The Happy Prince" (Nutt, 1888). Of these the"Grimm" and "Fiorimonde" are perhaps two of the most importantillustrated books noted in these pages. 

Randolph Caldecott founded a school that still retains fresh hold of theBritish public. But with all respect to his most loyal disciple, Mr. Hugh Thomson, one doubts if any successor has equalled the master in thepeculiar subtlety of his pictured comment upon the bare text. You havebut to turn to any of his toy books to see that at times each word, almost each syllable, inspired its own picture; and that the artist notonly conceived the scene which the text called into being, but eachsuccessive step before and after the reported incident itself. In "TheHouse that Jack Built, " "This is the Rat that Ate the Malt" supplies asubject for five pictures. First the owner carrying in the malt, nextthe rat driven away by the man, then the rat peeping up into thedeserted room, next the rat studying a placard upside down inscribed"four measures of malt, " and finally, the gorged animal sitting upon anempty measure. So "This is the Cat that Killed the Rat" is expanded intofive pictures. The dog has four, the cat three, and the rest of thestory is amplified with its secondary incidents duly sought anddepicted. This literary expression is possibly the most markedcharacteristic of a facile and able draughtsman. He studied his subjectas no one else ever studied it--he must have played with it, dreamed ofit, worried it night and day, until he knew it ten times better than itsauthor. Then he portrayed it simply and with irresistible vigour, with afine economy of line and colour; when colour is added, it is mainly as agay convention, and not closely imitative of nature. The sixteen toybooks which bear his name are too well known to make a list of theirtitles necessary. A few other children's books--"What the BlackbirdSaid" (Routledge, 1881), "Jackanapes, " "Lob-lie-by-the-Fire, " "DaddyDarwin's Dovecot, " all by Mrs. Ewing (S. P. C. K. ), "Baron Bruno"(Macmillan), "Some of Æsop's Fables" (Macmillan), and one or two others, are of secondary importance from our point of view here. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE WONDER CLOCK. " BY HOWARD PYLE(HARPER AND BROTHERS)]

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE WONDER CLOCK. " BY HOWARD PYLE(HARPER AND BROTHERS)]

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE WONDER CLOCK. " BY HOWARD PYLE(HARPER AND BROTHERS. 1894)]

It is no overt dispraise to say of Miss Kate Greenaway that few artistsmade so great a reputation in so small a field. Inspired by thechildren's books of 1820 (as a reference to a design, "Paths ofLearning, " reproduced on p. 9 will show), and with a curious naïvetythat was even more unconcerned in its dramatic effect than were the"missal marge" pictures of the illuminators, by her simple presentationof the childishness of childhood she won all hearts. Her little peopleare the _beau-idéal_ of nursery propriety--clean, good-tempered, happysmall gentlefolk. For, though they assume peasants' garb, they neverbetray boorish manners. Their very abandon is only that of nice littlepeople in play-hours, and in their wildest play the penalties that awaittorn knickerbockers or soiled frocks are not absent from their minds. Whether they really interested children as they delighted their eldersis a moot point. The verdict of many modern children is unanimous inpraise, and possibly because they represented the ideal every properlyeducated child is supposed to cherish. The slight taint of priggishnesswhich occasionally is there did not reveal itself to a child's eye. MissGreenaway's art, however, is not one to analyse but to enjoy. That sheis a most careful and painstaking worker is a fact, but one that wouldnot in itself suffice to arouse one's praise. The absence of effortwhich makes her work look happy and without effort is not its leastcharm. Her gay yet "cultured" colour, her appreciation of green chairsand formal gardens, all came at the right time. The houses by a NormanShaw found a Morris and a Liberty ready with furniture and fabrics, andall sorts of manufacturers devoting themselves to the production ofpleasant objects, to fill them; and for its drawing-room tables MissGreenaway produced books that were in the same key. But as thearchitecture and the fittings, at their best, proved to be no passingwhim, but the germ of a style, so her illustration is not a triflingsport, but a very real, if small, item in the history of the evolutionof picture-books. Good taste is the prominent feature of her work, andgood taste, if out of fashion for a time, always returns, and istreasured by future generations, no matter whether it be in accord withthe expression of the hour or distinctly archaic. Time is a verystringent critic, and much that passed as tolerably good taste when itfell in with the fashion, looks hopelessly vulgar when the tide ofpopularity has retreated. Miss Greenaway's work appears as refined tenyears after its "boom, " as it did when it was at the flood. That initself is perhaps an evidence of its lasting power; for ten or a dozenyears impart a certain shabby and worn aspect that has no flavour of theantique as a saving virtue to atone for its shortcomings. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE WONDER CLOCK. " BY HOWARD PYLE. (HARPER AND BROTHERS)]

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE WONDER CLOCK. " BY HOWARD PYLE. (HARPER AND BROTHERS)]

It seems almost superfluous to give a list of the principal books byMiss Kate Greenaway, yet for the convenience of collectors the names ofthe most noteworthy volumes may be set down. Those with coloured platesare: "A, Apple Pie" (1886), "Alphabet" (1885), "Almanacs" (from 1882yearly), "Birthday Book" (1880), "Book of Games" (1889), "A Day in aChild's Life" (1885), "King Pepito" (1889), "Language of Flowers"(1884), "Little Ann" (1883), "Marigold Garden" (1885), "Mavor's SpellingBook" (1885), "Mother Goose" (1886), "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" (1889), "Painting Books" (1879 and 1885), "Queen Victoria's Jubilee Garland"(1887), "Queen of the Pirate Isle" (1886), "Under the Window" (1879). Others with black-and-white illustrations include "Child of theParsonage" (1874), "Fairy Gifts" (1875), "Seven Birthdays" (1876), "Starlight Stories" (1877), "Topo" (1878), "Dame Wiggins of Lee" (Allen, 1885), "Stories from the Eddas" (1883). 

Many designs, some in colour, are to be found in volumes of _LittleFolks_, _Little Wideawake_, _Every Girl's Magazine_, _Girl's Own Paper_, and elsewhere. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "CHILDREN'S SINGING GAMES" BY WINIFREDSMITH (DAVID NUTT. 1894)]

The art of Miss Greenaway is part of the legend of the æsthetic craze, and while its storks and sunflowers have faded, and some of itseccentricities are forgotten, the quaint little pictures on Christmascards, in toy books, and elsewhere, are safely installed as items of theart product of the century. Indeed, many a popular Royal Academy pictureis likely to be forgotten before the illustrations from her hand. _Bric-à-brac_ they were, but more than that, for they gave infinitepleasure to thousands of children of all ages, and if they do not riseup and call her blessed, they retain a very warm memory of one who gavethem so much innocent pleasure. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "UNDINE" BY HEYWOOD SUMNER (CHAPMAN ANDHALL)]

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE RED FAIRY BOOK" BY L. SPEED(LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. 1895)]

Sir John Tenniel's illustrations, beginning as they do with "Undine"(1845), already mentioned, include others in volumes for young peoplethat need not be quoted. But with his designs for "Alice in Wonderland"(Macmillan, 1866), and "Through the Looking Glass" (1872), we touch_the_ two most notable children's books of the century. To say lesswould be inadequate and to say more needless. For every one knows theincomparable inventions which "Lewis Carroll" imagined and Sir JohnTenniel depicted. They are veritable classics, of which, as it is toolate to praise them, no more need be said. 

Certain coloured picture books by J. E. Rogers were greeted withextravagant eulogy at the time they appeared "in the seventies. " "Worthyto be hung at the Academy beside the best pictures of Millais orSandys, " one fatuous critic observed. Looking over their pages again, itseems strange that their very weak drawing and crude colour could havesatisfied people familiar with Mr. Walter Crane's masterly work in a notdissimiliar style. "Ridicula Rediviva" and "Mores Ridiculi" (bothMacmillan), were illustrations of nursery rhymes. To "The Fairy Book"(1870), a selection of old stories re-told by the author of "JohnHalifax, " Mr. Rogers contributed many full pages in colour, and also toMr. F. C. Burnand's "Present Pastimes of Merrie England" (1872). Theyare interesting as documents, but not as art; for their lack of academicknowledge is not counterbalanced by peculiar "feeling" or ingeniousconceit. They are merely attempts to do again what Mr. H. S. Marks haddone better previously. It seems ungrateful to condemn books that butfor renewed acquaintance might have kept the glamour of the past; andyet, realising how much feeble effort has been praised since it was"only for children, " it is impossible to keep silence when the truth isso evident. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "KATAWAMPUS" BY ARCHIE MACGREGOR (DAVIDNUTT)]

Alfred Crowquill most probably contributed all the pictures to "RobinsonCrusoe, " "Blue Beard, " and "Red Riding Hood" told in rhyme by F. W. N. Bayley, which have been noticed among his books of the "forties. " One ofthe full pages, which appear to be lithographs, is clearly signed. Healso illustrated the adventures of "Master Tyll Owlglass, " an edition of"Baron Munchausen, " "Picture Fables, " "The Careless Chicken, " "FunnyLeaves for the Younger Branches, " "Laugh and Grow Thin, " and a host ofother volumes. Yet the pictures in these, amusing as they are in theirway, do not seem likely to attract an audience again at any future time. 

E. V. B. , initials which stand for the Hon. Mrs. Boyle, are found onmany volumes of the past twenty-five years which have enjoyed a specialreputation. Certainly her drawings, if at times showing much of theamateur, have also a curious "quality, " which accounts for the very highpraise they have won from critics of some standing. "The Story withoutan End, " "Child's Play" (1858), "The New Child's Play, " "The MagicValley, " "Andersen Fairy Tales" (Low, 1882), "Beauty and the Beast" (aquarto with colour-prints by Leighton Bros. ), are the most important. Looking at them dispassionately now, there is yet a trace of some of thecharm that provoked applause a little more than they deserve. 

In British art this curious fascination exerted by the amateur is alwaysconfronting us. The work of E. V. B. Has great qualities, yet any pupilof a board school would draw better. Nevertheless it pleases more thanacademic technique of high merit that lacks just that one quality which, for want of a better word, we call "culture. " In the designs by Louisa, Marchioness of Waterford, one encounters genius with absolutelyfaltering technique; and many who know how rare is the slightest touchof genius, forgive the equally important mastery of material which mustaccompany it to produce work of lasting value. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE SLEEPING BEAUTY. " BY R. ANNINGBELL (DENT AND CO. )]

Mr. H. S. Marks designed two nursery books for Messrs. Routledge, andcontributed to many others, including J. W. Elliott's "National NurseryRhymes" (Novello), whence our illustration has been taken. Two series ofpicture books containing mediæval figures with gold background, by J. Moyr Smith, if somewhat lacking in the qualities which appeal tochildren, may have played a good part in educating them to admireconventional flat treatment, with a decorative purpose that was unusualin the "seventies, " when most of them appeared. 

In later years, Miss Alice Havers in "The White Swans, " and "Cape TownDicky" (Hildesheimer), and many lady artists of less conspicuousability, have done a quantity of graceful and elaborate pictures _of_children rather than _for_ children. The art of this later period showsbetter drawing, better colour, better composition than had been thepopular average before; but it generally lacks humour, and a certainvivacity of expression which children appreciate. 

In the "sixties" and "seventies" were many illustrators of children'sbooks who left no great mark except on the memories of those who wereyoung enough at the time to enjoy their work thoroughly, if not verycritically. Among these may be placed William Brunton, who illustratedseveral of the Right Hon. G. Knatchbull-Hugessen's fairy stories, "Talesat Tea Time" for instance, and was frequent among the illustrators ofHood's Annuals. Charles H. Ross (at one time editor of _Judy_) andcreator of "Ally Sloper, " the British Punchinello, produced at least onememorable book for children. "Queens and Kings and other Things, " afolio volume printed in gold and colour, with nonsense rhymes andpictures, almost as funny as those of Edward Lear himself. "The BoyCrusoe, " and many other books of somewhat ephemeral character are his, and Routledge's "Every Boy's Magazine" contains many of his designs. Just as these pages are being corrected the news of his death isannounced. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "FAIRY GIFTS. " BY H. GRANVILLE FELL(DENT AND CO. )]

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "A BOOK OF NURSERY SONGS AND RHYMES" BYMARY J. NEWILL (METHUEN AND CO. 1895)]

Others, like George Du Maurier, so rarely touched the subject that theycan hardly be regarded as wholly belonging to our theme. Yet"Misunderstood, " by Florence Montgomery (1879), illustrated by DuMaurier, is too popular to leave unnoticed. Mr. A. W. Bayes, who hasdeservedly won fame in other fields, illustrated "Andersen's Tales"(Warne, 1865), probably his earliest work, as a contemporary reviewspeaks of the admirable designs "by an artist whose name is new to us. "

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE ELF-ERRANT" BY W. E. F. BRITTEN(LAWRENCE AND BULLEN. 1895)]

It is a matter for surprise and regret that Mr. Howard Pyle'sillustrated books are not as well known in England as they deserve tobe. And this is the more vexing when you find that any one with artisticsympathy is completely converted to be a staunch admirer of Mr. Pyle'swork by a sight of "The Wonder Clock, " a portly quarto, published byHarper Brothers in 1894. It seems to be the only book conceived inpurely Düreresque line, which can be placed in rivalry with Mr. WalterCrane's illustrated "Grimm, " and wise people will be only too delightedto admire both without attempting to compare them. Mr. Pyle is evidentlyinfluenced by Dürer--with a strong trace of Rossetti--but he carriesboth influences easily, and betrays a strong personality throughout allthe designs. The "Merry Adventures of Robin Hood" and "Otto of theSilver Hand" are two others of about the same period, and the delightfulvolume collected from _Harper's Young People_ for the most part, entitled "Pepper and Salt, " may be placed with them. All theillustrations to these are in pure line, and have the appearance ofbeing drawn not greatly in excess of the reproduced size. Of all thesebooks Mr. Howard Pyle is author as well as illustrator. 

Of late he has changed his manner in line, showing at times, especiallyin "Twilight Land" (Osgood, McIlvaine, 1896), the influence of Vierge, but even in that book the frontispiece and many other designs keep tohis earlier manner. 

In "The Garden behind the Moon" (issued in London by Messrs. Lawrenceand Bullen) the chief drawings are entirely in wash, and yet aresingularly decorative in their effect. The "Story of Jack Bannister'sFortunes" shows the artist's "colonial" style, "Men of Iron, " "A ModernAladdin, " Oliver Wendell Holmes' "One-Horse Shay, " are other fairlyrecent volumes. His illustrations have not been confined to his ownstories as "In the Valley, " by Harold Frederic, "Stops of VariousQuills" (poems by W. D. Howells), go to prove. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "SINBAD THE SAILOR" BY WILLIAM STRANG(LAWRENCE AND BULLEN. 1896)]

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "ALI BABA" BY J. B. CLARK (LAWRENCE ANDBULLEN. 1896)]

It is strange that Mr. Heywood Sumner, who, as his notable "FitzroyPictures" would alone suffice to prove, is peculiarly well equipped forthe illustration of children's books, has done but few, and of thesenone are in colour. "Cinderella" (1882), rhymes by H. S. Leigh, set tomusic by J. Farmer, contains very pleasant decoration by Mr. Sumner. Next comes "Sintram" (1883), a notable edition of De la Motte Fouqué'sromance, followed by "Undine" (in 1885). With a book on the "Parables, "by A. L. O. E. , published about 1884; "The Besom Maker" (1880), a volume ofcountry ditties with the old music, and "Jacob and the Raven, " withthirty-nine illustrations (Allen, 1896), the best example of his latermanner, and a book which all admirers of the more severe order of"decorative illustration" will do well to preserve, the list iscomplete. Whether a certain austerity of line has made publishers timid, or whether the artist has declined commissions, the fact remains thatthe literature of the nursery has not yet had its full share from Mr. Heywood Sumner. Luckily, if its shelves are the less full, its walls aregayer by the many Fitzroy pictures he has made so effectively, whichreaders of THE STUDIO have seen reproduced from time to time in thesepages. 

Mr. H. J. Ford's work occupies so much space in the library of a modernchild, that it seems less necessary to discuss it at length here, for heis found either alone or co-operating with Mr. Jacomb Hood and Mr. Lancelot Speed, in each of the nine volumes of fairy tales and truestories (Blue, Red, Green, Yellow, Pink, and the rest), edited by Mr. Andrew Lang, and published by Longmans. More than that, at the Fine ArtSociety in May 1895, Mr. Ford exhibited seventy-one original drawings, chiefly those for the "Yellow Fairy Book, " so that his work is not onlyfamiliar to the inmates of the nursery, but to modern critics whodisdain mere printed pictures and care for nothing but autograph work. Certainly his designs have often lost much by their great reduction, formany of the originals were almost as large as four of these pages. Hiswork is full of imagination, full of detail; perhaps at times a littleovercrowded, to the extent of confusion. But children are not aversefrom a picture that requires much careful inspection to reveal all itsstory; and Mr. Ford's accessories all help to reiterate the main theme. As these eight volumes have an average of 100 pictures in each, and Mr. Ford has designed the majority, it is evident that, although his work isalmost entirely confined to one series, it takes a very prominent placein current juvenile literature. That he must by this time haveestablished his position as a prime favourite with the small people goeswithout saying. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE FLAME FLOWER. " BY J. F. SULLIVAN(DENT AND CO. 1896)]

Mr. Leslie Brooke has also a long catalogue of notable work in thisclass. For since Mr. Walter Crane ceased to illustrate the long seriesof Mrs. Molesworth's stories, he has carried on the record. "Sheila'sMystery, " "The Carved Lions, " "Mary, " "My New Home, " "Nurse Heathcote'sStory, " "The Girls and I, " "The Oriel Window, " and "Miss Mouse and herBoys" (all Macmillan), are the titles of these books to which he hascontributed. A very charming frontispiece and title to John OliverHobbs' "Prince Toto, " which appeared in "The Parade, " must not beforgotten. The most fanciful of his designs are undoubtedly the hundredillustrations to Mr. Andrew Lang's delightful collection of "NurseryRhymes, " just published by F. Warne & Co. These reveal a store of humourthat the less boisterous fun of Mrs. Molesworth had denied him theopportunity of expressing. 

Mr. C. E. Brock, whose delightful compositions, somewhat in the "HughThomson" manner, embellish several volumes of Messrs. Macmillan'sCranford series, has illustrated also "The Parachute, " and "EnglishFairy and Folk Tales, " by E. S. Hartland (1893), and also supplied twopictures to that most fascinating volume prized by all lovers ofchildren, "W. V. , Her Book, " by W. Canton. Perhaps "Westward Ho!" shouldalso be included in this list, for whatever its first intentions, it haslong been annexed by bolder spirits in the nursery. 

A. B. Frost, by his cosmopolitan fun, "understanded of all people, " hasprobably aroused more hearty laughs by his inimitable books than evenCaldecott himself. "Stuff and Nonsense, " and "The Bull Calf, " T. B. Aldrich's "Story of a Bad Boy, " and many another volume of Americanorigin, that is now familiar to every Briton with a sense of humour, arethe most widely known. It is needless to praise the literally inimitablehumour of the tragic series "Our Cat took Rat Poison. " In LewisCarroll's "Rhyme? and Reason?" (1883), Mr. Frost shared with HenryHoliday the task of illustrating a larger edition of the book firstpublished under the title of "Phantasmagoria" (1869); he illustratedalso "A Tangled Tale" (1886), by the same author, and this is perhapsthe only volume of British origin of which he is sole artist. Mr. HenryHoliday was responsible for the classic pictures to "The Hunting of theSnark" by Lewis Carroll (1876). 

Mr. R. Anning Bell does not appear to have illustrated many books forchildren. Of these, the two which introduced Mr. Dent's "Banbury Cross"series are no doubt the best known. In fact, to describe "Jack the GiantKiller" and the "Sleeping Beauty" in these pages would be an insult to"subscribers from the first. " A story, "White Poppies, " by May Kendall, which ran through _Sylvia's Journal_, is a little too grown-up to beincluded; nor can the "Heroines of the Poets, " which appeared in thesame place, be dragged in to augment the scanty list, any more than the"Midsummer Night's Dream" or "Keats's Poems. " It is singular that thefancy of Mr. Anning Bell, which seems exactly calculated to attract achild and its parent at the same time, has not been more frequentlyrequisitioned for this purpose. In the two "Banbury Cross" volumes thereis evidence of real sympathy with the text, which is by no means asusual in pictures to fairy tales as it should be; and a delightfullyharmonious sense of decoration rare in any book, and still more rare inthose expressly designed for small people. 

[Illustration:

 For them I'd climb, 'most all the Time And never tear no Clothes!

ILLUSTRATION FROM "RED APPLE AND SILVER BELLS. " BY ALICE B. WOODWARD. (BLACKIE AND SON. 1897)]

The amazing number of Mr. Gordon Browne's illustrations leaves awould-be iconographer appalled. So many thousand designs--and all sogood--deserve a lengthened and exhaustive eulogy. But space absolutelyforbids it, and as a large number cater for older children than most ofthe books here noticed, on that ground one may be forgiven theinadequate notice. If an illustrator deserved to attract the attentionof collectors it is surely this one, and so fertile has he been that acomplete set of all his work would take no little time to get together. Here are the titles of a few jotted at random: "Bonnie Prince Charlie, ""For Freedom's Cause, " "St. George for England, " "Orange and Green, ""With Clive in India, " "With Wolfe in Canada, " "True to the Old Flag, ""By Sheer Pluck, " "Held Fast for England, " "For Name and Fame, " "WithLee in Virginia, " "Facing Death, " "Devon Boys, " "Nat the Naturalist, ""Bunyip Land, " "The Lion of St. Mark, " "Under Drake's Flag, " "The GoldenMagnet, " "The Log of the Flying Fish, " "In the King's Name, " "MargeryMerton's Girlhood, " "Down the Snow Stairs, " "Stories of Old Renown, ""Seven Wise Scholars, " "Chirp and Chatter, " "Gulliver's Travels, ""Robinson Crusoe, " "Hetty Gray, " "A Golden Age, " "Muir Fenwick'sFailure, " "Winnie's Secret" (all so far are published by Blackie andSon). "National Nursery Rhymes, " "Fairy Tales from Grimm, " "Sintram, andUndine, " "Sweetheart Travellers, " "Five, Ten and Fifteen, " "GillyFlower, " "Prince Boohoo, " "A Sister's Bye-hours, " "Jim, " and "A Flock ofFour, " are all published by Gardner, Darton & Co. , and "Effie, " byGriffith & Farran. When one realises that not a few of these bookscontain a hundred illustrations, and that the list is almost entirelyfrom two publishers' catalogues, some idea of the fecundity of Mr. Gordon Browne's output is gained. But only a vague idea, as his"Shakespeare, " with hundreds of drawings and a whole host of otherbooks, cannot be even mentioned. It is sufficient to name but one--saythe example from "Robinson Crusoe" (Blackie), reproduced on page 32--torealise Mr. Gordon Browne's vivid and picturesque interpretation offact, or "Down the Snow Stairs" (Blackie), also illustrated, with agrotesque owl-like creature, to find that in pure fantasy his exuberantimagination is no less equal to the task. In "Chirp and Chatter"(Blackie), fifty-four illustrations of animals masquerading as humanshow delicious humour. At times his technique appears somewhat hasty, but, as a rule, the method he adopts is as good as the composition hedepicts. He is in his own way the leader of juvenile illustration of thenon-Dürer school. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "KATAWAMPUS. " BY ARCHIE MACGREGOR. (DAVID NUTT)]

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "TO TELL THE KING THE SKY IS FALLING. "BY ALICE WOODWARD (BLACKIE AND SON. 1896)]

Mr. Harry Furniss's coloured toy-books--"Romps"--are too well known toneed description, and many another juvenile volume owes its attractionto his facile pencil. Of these, the two later "Lewis Caroll's"--"Sylviaand Bruno, " and "Sylvia and Bruno, Concluded, " are perhaps mostimportant. As a curious narrative, "Travels in the Interior" (of a humanbody) must not be forgotten. It certainly called forth much ingenuity onthe part of the artist. In "Romps, " and in all his work for children, there is an irrepressible sense of movement and of exuberant vitality inhis figures; but, all the same, they are more like Fred Walker's idyllicyoungsters having romps than like real everyday children. 

Mr. Linley Sambourne's most ingenious pen has been all too seldomemployed on children's books. Indeed, one that comes first to memory, the "New Sandford and Merton" (1872), is hardly entitled to be classedamong them, but the travesty of the somewhat pedantic narrative, interspersed with fairly amusing anecdotes, that Thomas Day published in1783, is superb. No matter how familiar it may be, it is simplyimpossible to avoid laughing anew at the smug little Harry, thesanctimonious tutor, or the naughty Tommy, as Mr. Sambourne has realisedthem. The "Anecdotes of the Crocodile" and "The Presumptuous Dentist"are no less good. The way he has turned a prosaic hat-rack into aninstrument of torture would alone mark Mr. Sambourne as a comicdraughtsman of the highest type. Nothing he has done in politicalcartoons seems so likely to live as these burlesques. A little knownbook, "The Royal Umbrella" (1888), which contains the delightful "CatGardeners" here reproduced, and the very well-known edition of CharlesKingsley's "Water Babies" (1886), are two other volumes which welldisplay his moods of less unrestrained humour. "The Real RobinsonCrusoe" (1893) and Lord Brabourne's (Knatchbull-Hugessen's) "Friends andFoes of Fairyland" (1886), well-nigh exhaust the list of his efforts inthis direction. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "RUSSIAN FAIRY TALES" BY C. M. GERE(LAWRENCE AND BULLEN. 1893)]

[Illustration: THE SINGING LESSON No. 1. FROM THE ORIGINAL DRAWING BY A. NOBODY]

Prince of all foreign illustrators for babyland is M. Boutet de Monvel, whose works deserve an exhaustive monograph. Although comparatively fewof his books are really well known in England, "Little Folks" contains agoodly number of his designs. La Fontaine's "Fables" (an English editionof which is published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge)is (so far as I have discovered) the only important volume reprintedwith English text. Possibly his "Jeanne d'Arc" ought not to be namedamong children's books, yet the exquisite drawing of its children andthe unique splendour the artist has imparted to simple colour-printing, endear it to little ones no less than adults. But it would be absurd tosuppose that readers of THE STUDIO do not know this masterpiece of itsclass, a book no artistic household can possibly afford to bewithout. Earlier books by M. De Monvel, which show him in his mostengaging mood (the mood in the illustration from "Little Folks" herereproduced), are "Vieilles Chansons et Rondes, " by Ch. M. Widor, "LaCivilité Puérile et Honnête, " and "Chansons de France pour les PetitsFrançais. " Despite their entirely different characterisation of thechild, and a much stronger grasp of the principles of decorativecomposition, these delightful designs are more nearly akin to those ofMiss Kate Greenaway than are any others published in Europe or America. Yet M. De Monvel is not only absolutely French in his types and costumesbut in the movement and expression of his serious little people, whoplay with a certain demure gaiety that those who have watched Frenchchildren in the Gardens of the Luxembourg or Tuileries, or a Frenchseaside resort, know to be absolutely truthful. For the Gallic _bébé_certainly seems less "rampageous" than the English urchin. A certaindaintiness of movement and timidity in the boys especially adds a graceof its own to the games of French children which is not without itspeculiar charm. This is singularly well caught in M. De Monvel'sdelicious drawings, where naïvely symmetrical arrangement and a mostadmirable simplicity of colour are combined. Indeed, of all non-Englishartists who address the little people, he alone has the inmost secret ofcombining realistic drawing with sumptuous effects in conventionaldecoration. 

[Illustration: THE SINGING LESSON--No. 2. FROM THE ORIGINAL DRAWING BYA. NOBODY]

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "ADVENTURES IN TOY LAND" BY ALICE B. WOODWARD (BLACKIE AND SON. 1897)]

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "PRINCE BOOHOO" BY GORDON BROWNE(GARDNER, DARTON AND CO. 1897)]

The work of the Danish illustrator, Lorenz Froelich, is almost asfamiliar in English as in Continental nurseries, yet his name is oftenabsent from the title-pages of books containing his drawings. Perhapsthose attributed to him formally that are most likely to be known byBritish readers are in "When I was a Little Girl" and "Nine Years Old"(Macmillan), but, unless memory is treacherous, one remembers toy-booksin colours (published by Messrs. Nelson and others), that were obviouslyfrom his designs. A little known French book, "Le Royaume desGourmands, " exhibits the artist in a more fanciful aspect, where hemakes a far better show than in some of his ultra-pretty realisticstudies. Other French volumes, "Histoire d'un Bouchée de Pain, " "Lili àla Campagne, " "La Journée de Mademoiselle Lili, " and the "Alphabet deMademoiselle Lili, " may possibly be the original sources whence theblocks were borrowed and adapted to English text. But the veteranillustrator has done far too large a number of designs to be cataloguedhere. For grace and truth, and at times real mastery of his material, nonotice of children's artists could abstain from placing him very high intheir ranks. 

Oscar Pletsch is another artist--presumably a German--whose work hasbeen widely republished in England. In many respects it resembles thatof Froelich, and is almost entirely devoted to the daily life of theinmates of the nursery, with their tiny festivals and brief tragedies. It would seem to appeal more to children than their elders, because therealistic transcript of their doings by his hand often lacks the touchof pathos, or of grown-up humour that finds favour with adults. 

The mass of children's toy-books published by Messrs. Dean, Darton, Routledge, Warne, Marcus Ward, Isbister, Hildesheimer and many otherscannot be considered exhaustively, if only from the fact that the namesof the designers are frequently omitted. Probably Messrs. Kronheim &Co. , and other colour-printers, often supplied pictures designed bytheir own staff. Mr. Edmund Evans, to whom is due a very large share ofthe success of the Crane, Caldecott, and Kate Greenaway (Routledge)books, more frequently reproduced the work of artists whose names wereconsidered sufficiently important to be given upon the books themselves. A few others of Routledge's toy-books besides those mentioned are worthnaming. Mr. H. S. Marks, R. A. , designed two early numbers of theirshilling series: "Nursery Rhymes" and "Nursery Songs;" and to J. D. Watson may be attributed the "Cinderella" in the same series. Othersixpenny and shilling illustrated books were by C. H. Bennett, C. W. Cope, A. W. Bayes, Julian Portch, Warwick Reynolds, F. Keyl, andHarrison Weir. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "NONSENSE" BY A. NOBODY(GARDNER, DARTON AND CO. )]

The "Greedy Jim, " by Bennett, is only second to "Struwwlpeter" itself, in its lasting power to delight little ones. If out of print it deservesto be revived. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION (REDUCED) FROM "THE CHILD'S PICTORIAL. " BYMRS. R. HALLWARD (S. P. C. K. )]

Although Mr. William de Morgan appears to have illustrated but a singlevolume, "On a Pincushion, " by Mary de Morgan (Seeley, 1877), yet that isso interesting that it must be noticed. Its interest is double--first inthe very "decorative" quality of its pictures, which are full of"colour" and look like woodcuts more than process blocks; and next inthe process itself, which was the artist's own invention. So far as Igather from Mr. De Morgan's own explanation, the drawings were made onglass coated with some yielding substance, through which a knife orgraver cut the "line. " Then an electro was taken. This process, it isclear, is almost exactly parallel with that of wood-cutting--_i. E. _, the"whites" are taken out, and the sweep of the tool can be guided by theworker in an absolutely untrammelled way. Those who love the qualitiesof a woodcut, and have not time to master the technique of wood-cuttingor engraving, might do worse than experiment with Mr. De Morgan'sprocess. A quantity of proofs of designs he executed--but neverpublished--show that it has many possibilities worth developing. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "A, B, C" BY MRS. GASKIN (ELKINMATHEWS)]

The work of Reginald Hallward deserves to be discussed at greater lengththan is possible here. His most important book (printed finely in goldand colours by Edmund Evans), is "Flowers of Paradise, " issued byMacmillan some years ago. The drawings for this beautiful quarto wereshown at one of the early Arts and Crafts Exhibitions. Some designs, purely decorative, are interspersed among the figure subjects. "QuickMarch, " a toy-book (Warne), is also full of the peculiar "quality" whichdistinguishes Mr. Hallward's work, and is less austere than certainlater examples. The very notable magazine, _The Child's Pictorial_, illustrated almost entirely in colours, which the Society for PromotingChristian Knowledge published for ten years, contains work by thisartist, and a great many illustrations by Mrs. Hallward, which alonewould serve to impart value to a publication that has (as we havepointed out elsewhere) very many early examples by Charles Robinson, andcapital work by W. J. Morgan. Mrs. Hallward's work is marked by strongPre-Raphaelite feeling, although she does not, as a rule, selectold-world themes, but depicts children of to-day. Both Mr. And Mrs. Hallward eschew the "pretty-pretty" type, and are bent on producingreally "decorative" pages. So that to-day, when the ideal they so longchampioned has become popular, it is strange to find that their work isnot better known. 

[Illustration: "KING LOVE. A CHRISTMAS GREETING. " BY H. GRANVILLE FELL]

The books illustrated by past or present students of the BirminghamSchool will be best noticed in a group, as, notwithstanding somedistinct individuality shown by many of the artists, especially in theirlater works, the idea that links the group together is sufficientlysimilar to impart to all a certain resemblance. In other words, you cannearly always pick out a "Birmingham" illustration at a glance, even ifit would be impossible to confuse the work of Mr. Gaskin with that ofMiss Levetus. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE STORY OF BLUEBEARD" BY E. SOUTHALL(LAWRENCE AND BULLEN. 1895)]

Arthur Gaskin's illustrations to Andersen's "Stories and Fairy Tales"(George Allen) are beyond doubt the most important volumes in any wayconnected with the school. Mr. William Morris ranked them so highly thatMr. Gaskin was commissioned to design illustrations for some of theKelmscott Press books, and Mr. Walter Crane has borne public witness totheir excellence. This alone is sufficient to prove that they rise farabove the average level. "Good King Wenceslas" (Cornish Bros. ) isanother of Mr. Gaskin's books--his best in many ways. He it is also whoillustrated and decorated Mr. Baring-Gould's "A Book of Fairy Tales"(Methuen). 

Mrs. Gaskin (Georgie Cave France) is also familiar to readers of THESTUDIO. Perhaps her "A, B, C. " (published by Elkin Mathews), and "HornBook Jingles" (The Leadenhall Press), a unique book in shape and style, contain the best of her work so far. 

Miss Levetus has contributed many illustrations to books. Among the bestare "Turkish Fairy Tales" (Lawrence and Bullen), and "Verse Fancies"(Chapman and Hall). 

"Russian Fairy Tales" (Lawrence and Bullen) is distinguished by thedesigns of C. M. Gere, who has done comparatively little illustration;hence the book has more than usual interest, and takes a far higherartistic rank than its title might lead one to expect. 

Miss Bradley has illustrated one of Messrs. Blackie's happiest volumesthis year. "Just Forty Winks" (from which one picture is reproducedhere), shows that the artist has steered clear of the "Alice inWonderland" model, which the author can hardly be said to have avoided. Miss Bradley has also illustrated the prettily decorated book of poems, "Songs for Somebody, " by Dollie Radford (Nutt). The two series of"Children's Singing Games" (Nutt) are among the most pleasant volumesthe Birmingham school has produced. Both are decorated by WinifredSmith, who shows considerable humour as well as ingenuity. 

Among volumes illustrated, each by the members of the Birmingham school, are "A Book of Pictured Carols" (George Allen), and Mr. Baring-Gould's"Nursery Rhymes" (Methuen). Both these volumes contain some of the mostrepresentative work of Birmingham, and the latter, with its rich bordersand many pictures, is a book that consistently maintains a very fineideal, rare at any time, and perhaps never before applied to a book forthe nursery. Indeed were it needful to choose a single book to representthe school, this one would stand the test of selection. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "NURSERY RHYMES" BY PAUL WOODROFFE(GEORGE ALLEN. 1897)]

In Messrs. Dent's "Banbury Cross" series, the Misses Violet and EvelynHolden illustrated "The House that Jack Built"; Sidney Heath wasresponsible for "Aladdin, " and Mrs. H. T. Adams decorated "Tom Thumb, &c. "

Mr. Laurence Housman is more than an illustrator of fairy tales; he ishimself a rare creator of such fancies, and has, moreover, an almostunique power of conveying his ideas in the medium. His "Farm inFairyland" and "A House of Joy" (both published by Kegan Paul and Co. )have often been referred to in THE STUDIO. Yet, at the risk ofreiterating what nobody of taste doubts, one must place his work in thisdirection head and shoulders above the crowd--even the crowd ofexcellent illustrators--because its amazing fantasy and caprice aresupported by cunning technique that makes the whole work a "picture, "not merely a decoration or an interpretation of the text. As a spinnerof entirely bewitching stories, that hold a child spell-bound, and canbe read and re-read by adults, he is a near rival of Andersen himself. 

H. Granville Fell, better known perhaps from his decorations to "TheBook of Job, " and certain decorated pages in the _English IllustratedMagazine_, illustrated three of Messrs. Dent's "Banbury Cross"series--"Cinderella, &c. , " "Ali Baba, " and "Tom Hickathrift. " His workin these is full of pleasant fancy and charming types. 

A very sumptuous setting of the old fairy tale, "Beauty and the Beast, "in this case entitled "Zelinda and the Monster" (Dent, 1895), with tenphotogravures after paintings by the Countess of Lovelace, must not beforgotten, as its text may bring it into our present category. 

Miss Rosie Pitman, in "Maurice and the Red Jar" (Macmillan), shows muchelaborate effort and a distinct fantasy in design. "Undine" (Macmillan, 1897) is a still more successful achievement. 

Richard Heighway is one of the "Banbury Cross" illustrators in "BlueBeard, " &c. (Dent), and has also pictured Æsop's "Fables, " with 300designs (in Macmillan's Cranford series). 

Mr. J. F. Sullivan--who must not be confused with his namesake--is onewho has rarely illustrated works for little children, but in the famous"British Workman" series in _Fun_, in dozens of Tom Hood's "ComicAnnuals, " and elsewhere, has provoked as many hearty laughs from thenursery as from the drawing-room. In "The Flame Flower" (Dent) we find aside-splitting volume, illustrated with 100 drawings by the author. Forthis only Mr. J. F. Sullivan has plunged readers deep in debt, and whenone recalls the amazing number of his delicious absurdities in theperiodical literature of at least twenty years past, it seems astoundingto find that the name of so entirely well-equipped a draughtsman is yetnot the household word it should be. 

E. J. Sullivan, with eighty illustrations to the Cranford edition of"Tom Brown's Schooldays, " comes for once within our present limit. 

J. D. Batten is responsible for the illustration of so many importantcollections of fairy tales that it is vexing not to be able to reproducea selection of his drawings, to show the fertility of his invention andhis consistent improvement in technique. The series, "Fairy Tales of theBritish Empire, " collected and edited by Mr. Jacobs, already includefive volumes--English, More English, Celtic, More Celtic, and Indian, all liberally illustrated by J. D. Batten, as are "The Book of WonderVoyages, " by J. Jacobs (Nutt), and "Fairy Tales from the ArabianNights, " edited by E. Dixon, and a second series, both published byMessrs. J. M. Dent and Co. "A Masque of Dead Florentines" (Dent) canhardly be brought into our subject. 

Louis Davis has illustrated far too few children's books. His Fitzroypictures show how delightfully he can appeal to little people, and in"Good Night Verses, " by Dollie Radford (Nutt), we have forty pages ofhis designs that are peculiarly dainty in their quality, and tender intheir poetic interpretation of child-life. 

"Wymps" (Lane, 1896), with illustrations by Mrs. Percy Dearmer, has aquaint straightforwardness, of a sort that exactly wins a critic of thenursery. 

J. C. Sowerby, a designer for stained glass, in "Afternoon Tea" (Warne, 1880), set a new fashion for "æsthetic" little quartos costing five orsix shillings each. This was followed by "At Home" (1881), and "At HomeAgain" (1886, Marcus Ward), and later by "Young Maids and Old China. "These, despite their popularity, display no particular invention. Forthe real fancy and "conceit" of the books you have to turn to theirdecorative borders by Thomas Crane. This artist, collaborating withEllen Houghton, contributed two other volumes to the same series, "Abroad" (1882), and "London Town" (1883), both prime favourites oftheir day. 

Lizzie Lawson, in many contributions for _Little Folks_ and a volume incolours, "Old Proverbs" (Cassell), displayed much grace in depictingchildren's themes. 

Nor among coloured books of the "eighties" must we overlook "Under theMistletoe" (Griffith and Farran, 1886), and "When all is Young"(Christmas Roses, 1886); "Punch and Judy, " by F. E. Weatherley, illustrated by Patty Townsend (1885); "The Parables of Our Lord, " reallydignified pictures compared with most of their class, by W. Morgan;"Puss in Boots, " illustrated by S. Caldwell; "Pets and Playmates"(1888); "Three Fairy Princesses, " illustrated by Paterson (1885);"Picture Books of the Fables of Æsop, " another series of quaintlydesigned picture books, modelled on Struwwlpeter; "The Robbers' Cave, "illustrated by A. M. Lockyer, and "Nursery Numbers" (1884), illustratedby an amateur named Bell, all these being published by Messrs. MarcusWard and Co. , who issued later, "Where Lilies Grow, " a very popularvolume, illustrated in the "over-pretty" style by Mrs. Stanley Berkeley. The attractive series of toy-books in colours, published in the form ofa Japanese folding album, were probably designed by Percy Macquoid, andpublished by the same firm, who issued an oblong folio, "Herrick'sContent, " very pleasantly decorated by Mrs. Houghton. R. Andre was (andfor all I know is still) a very prolific illustrator of children'scoloured books. "The Cruise of the Walnut Shell" (Dean, 1881); "A WeekSpent in a Glass Pond" (Gardner, Darton and Co. ); "Grandmother'sThimble" (Warne, 1882); "Pictures and Stories" (Warne, 1882); "UpStream" (Low, 1884); "A Lilliputian Opera" (Day, 1885); the OakleafLibrary (six shilling volumes, Warne); and Mrs. Ewing's Verse Books (sixvols. S. P. C. K. ) are some of the best known. T. Pym, far lesswell-equipped as a draughtsman, shows a certain childish naïveté in his(or was it her?) "Pictures from the Poets" (Gardner, Darton and Co. );"A, B, C" (Gardner, Darton and Co. ); "Land of Little People"(Hildesheimer, 1886); "We are Seven" (1880); "Children Busy" (1881);"Snow Queen" (Gardner, Darton and Co. ); "Child's Own Story Book"(Gardner, Darton and Co. ). 

Ida Waugh in "Holly Berries" (Griffith and Farran, 1881); "Wee Babies"(Griffith and Farran, 1882); "Baby Blossoms, " "Tangles and Curls, " andmany other volumes mainly devoted to pictures of babies and theirdoings, pleased a very large audience both here and in the UnitedStates. "Dreams, Dances and Disappointments, " and "The Maypole, " both byKonstan and Castella, are gracefully decorated books issued by Messrs. De La Rue in 1882, who also published "The Fairies, " illustrated by [H?]Allingham in 1881. Major Seccombe in "Comic Sketches from History"(Allen, 1884), and "Cinderella" (Warne, 1882), touched our theme; alarge number of more or less comic books of military life and socialsatire hardly do so. Coloured books of which I have failed to discovercopies for reference, are: A. Blanchard's "My Own Dolly" (Griffith andFarran, 1882); "Harlequin Eggs, " by Civilly (Sonnenschein, 1884); "TheNodding Mandarin, " by L. F. Day (Simpkin, 1883); "Cats-cradle, " by C. Kendrick (Strahan, 1886); "The Kitten Pilgrims, " by A. Ballantyne(Nisbet, 1887); "Ups and Downs" (1880), and "At his Mother's Knee"(1883), by M. J. Tilsey. "A Winter Nosegay" (Sonnenschein, 1881);"Pretty Peggy, " by Emmet (Low, 1881); "Children's Kettledrum, " by M. A. C. (Dean, 1881); "Three Wise Old Couples, " by Hopkins (Cassell, 1881);"Puss in Boots, " by E. K. Johnson (Warne); "Sugar and Spice and allthat's Nice" (Strahan, 1881); "Fly away, Fairies, " by Clarkson (Griffithand Farran, 1882); "The Tiny Lawn Tennis Club" (Dean, 1882); "Little BenBate, " by M. Browne (Simpkin, 1882); "Nursery Night, " by E. Dewane(Dean, 1882); "New Pinafore Pictures" (Dean, 1882); "Rumpelstiltskin"(De la Rue, 1882); "Baby's Debut, " by J. Smith (De la Rue, 1883);"Buckets and Spades" (Dean, 1883); "Childhood" (Warne, 1883); "DameTrot" (Chapman and Hall, 1883); "In and Out, " by Ismay Thorne(Sonnenschein, 1884); "Under Mother's Wing, " by Mrs. Clifford (Gardner, Darton, 1883); "Quacks" (Ward and Lock, 1883); "Little Chicks" (Griffithand Farran, 1883); "Talking Toys, " "The Talking Clock, " H. M. Bennett;"Four Feet by Two, " by Helena Maguire; "Merry Hearts, " "Cosy Corners, "and "A Christmas Fairy, " by Gordon Browne (all published by Nisbet). 

Among many books elaborately printed by Messrs. Hildesheimer, are twoillustrated by M. E. Edwards and J. C. Staples, "Told in the Twilight"(1883); and "Song of the Bells" (1884); and one by M. E. Edwards only, "Two Children"; others by Jane M. Dealy, "Sixes and Sevens" (1882), and"Little Miss Marigold" (1884); "Nursery Land, " by H. J. Maguire (1888), and "Sunbeams, " by E. K. Johnson and Ewart Wilson (1887). 

F. D. Bedford, who illustrated and decorated "The Battle of the Frogsand Mice" (Methuen), has produced this year one of the most satisfactorybooks with coloured illustrations. In "Nursery Rhymes" (Methuen), thepictures, block-printed in colour by Edmund Evans, are worthy to beplaced beside the best books he has produced. 

Of all lady illustrators--the phrase is cumbrous, but we have noother--Miss A. B. Woodward stands apart, not only by the vigour of herwork, but by its amazing humour, a quality which is certainly infrequentin the work of her sister-artists. The books she has illustrated are notvery many, but all show this quality. "Banbury Cross, " in Messrs. Dent'sSeries is among the first. In "To Tell the King the Sky is Falling"(Blackie, 1896) there is a store of delicious examples, and in "TheBrownies" (Dent, 1896), the vigour of the handling is very noticeable. In "Eric, Prince of Lorlonia" (Macmillan, 1896), we have further proofthat these characteristics are not mere accidents, but the result ofcarefully studied intention, which is also apparent in the cleverdesigns for the covers of Messrs. Blackie's Catalogue, 1896-97. Thisyear, in "Red Apple and Silver Bells, " Miss Woodward shows markedadvance. The book, with its delicious rhymes by Hamish Hendry, is one totreasure, as is also her "Adventures in Toy Land, " designs marked by the_diablerie_ of which she, alone of lady artists, seems to have thesecret. In this the wooden, inane expression of the toys contrastsdelightfully with the animate figures. 

Mr. Charles Robinson is one of the youngest recruits to the army ofillustrators, and yet his few years' record is both lengthy and kept ata singularly high level. In the first of his designs which attractedattention we find the half-grotesque, half-real child that he has madehis own--fat, merry little people, that are bubbling over with the joyof mere existence. "Macmillan's Literary Primers" is the ratherponderous title of these booklets which cost but a few pence each, andare worth many a half-dozen high-priced nursery books. Stevenson's"Child's Garden of Verse, " his first important book, won a newreputation by reason of its pictures. Then came "Æsop's Fables, " inDent's "Banbury Cross" Series. The next year saw Mr. Gabriel Setoun'sbook of poems, "Child World, " Mrs. Meynell's "The Children, " Mr. H. D. Lowry's "Make Believe, " and two decorated pages in "The Parade" (Henryand Co. ). The present Christmas will see several books from his hand. 

"Old World Japan" (George Allen) has thirty-four, and "Legends fromRiver and Mountain, " forty-two, pictures by T. H. Robinson, which mustnot be forgotten. "The Giant Crab" (Nutt), and "Andersen" (Bliss, Sands), are among the best things W. Robinson has yet done. 

[Illustration]

"Nonsense, " by A. Nobody, and "Some More Nonsense, " by A. Nobody(Gardner, Darton & Co. ), are unique instances of an unfettered humour. That their apparently naïve grotesques are from the hand of a verypractised draughtsman is evident at a first glance; but as their authorprefers to remain anonymous his identity must not be revealed. Specimensfrom the published work (which is, however, mostly in colour), andfacsimiles of hitherto unpublished drawings, entitled "The SingingLesson, " kindly lent by Messrs. Gardner, Darton & Co. , are here to provehow merry our anonym can be. By the way, it may be well to add that theartist in question is _not_ Sir Edward Burne-Jones, whose caricatures, that are the delight of children of all ages who know them, have been sofar strictly kept to members of the family circle, for whom they wereproduced. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "LITTLE FOLKS. " BY MAURICE BOUTET DEMONVEL. (CASSELL AND CO. )]

The editor of THE STUDIO, to whose selection of pictures forreproduction these pages owe their chief interest, has spared no effortto show a good working sample of the best of all classes, and in thespace available has certainly omitted few of any consequence--exceptthose so very well known, as, for instance, Tenniel's "Alice" series, and the Caldecott toy-books--which it would have been superfluous toillustrate again, especially in black and white after colouredoriginals. 

In Mrs. Field's volume already mentioned, the author says: "It has beenwell observed that children do not desire, and ought not to be furnishedwith purely realistic portraits of themselves; the boy's heart craves ahero, and the Johnny or Frank of the realistic story-book, the littleboy like himself, is not in this sense a hero. " This passage, referringto the stories themselves, might be applied to their illustration withhardly less force. To idealise is the normal impulse of a child. Truethat it can "make believe" from the most rudimentary hints, but it ismuch easier to do so if something not too actual is the groundwork. Figures which delight children are never wholly symbolic, mere virtuesand vices materialised as personages of the anecdote. Real nonsense suchas Lear concocted, real wit such as that which sparkles from LewisCarroll's pages, find their parallel in the pictures which accompanyeach text. It is the feeble effort to be funny, the mildly punninghumour of the imitators, which makes the text tedious, and one fanciesthe artist is also infected, for in such books the drawings very rarelyrise to a high level. 

The "pretty-pretty" school, which has been too popular, especially inanthologies of mildly entertaining rhymes, is sickly at its best, andfails to retain the interest of a child. Possibly, in pleading forimaginative art, one has forgotten that everywhere is Wonderland to achild, who would be no more astonished to find a real elephant droppingin to tea, or a real miniature railway across the lawn, than in findinga toy elephant or a toy engine awaiting him. Children are so accustomedto novelty that they do not realise the abnormal; nor do they alwayscrave for unreality. As coaches and horses were the delight ofyoungsters a century ago, so are trains and steamboats to-day. Given apile of books and an empty floor space, their imagination needs nomechanical models of real locomotives; or, to be more correct, theyenjoy the make-believe with quite as great a zest. Hence, perhaps, inpraising conscious art for children's literature, one is unwittinglypleasing older tastes; indeed, it is not inconceivable that the "prig"which lurks in most of us may be nurtured by too refined diet. Whether achild brought up wholly on the æsthetic toy-book would realise thegreatness of Rembrandt's etchings or other masterpieces of realistic artmore easily than one who had only known the current pictures of cheapmagazines, is not a question to be decided off-hand. To foster anartificial taste is not wholly unattended with danger; but if humour bepresent, as it is in the works of the best artists for the nursery, thenall fear vanishes; good wholesome laughter is the deadliest bane to theprig-microbe, and will leave no infant lisping of the preciousness ofCimabue, or the wonder of Sandro Botticelli, as certain children werereported to do in the brief days when the æsthete walked his faded wayamong us. That modern children's books will--some of them at least--takean honourable place in an iconography of nineteenth-century art, many ofthe illustrations here reproduced are in themselves sufficient to prove. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "GOULD'S BOOK OF FAIRY TALES. " BYARTHUR GASKIN. (METHUEN AND CO. )]

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "LULLABY LAND" BY CHARLES ROBINSON. (JOHN LANE. 1897)]

After so many pages devoted to the subject, it might seem as if the massof material should have revealed very clearly what is the idealillustration for children. But "children" is a collective term, rangingfrom the tastes of the baby to the precocious youngsters who dip intoMudie books on the sly, and hold conversations thereon which astonishtheir elders when by chance they get wind of the fact. Perhaps thebelief that children can be educated by the eye is more plausible thanwell supported. In any case, it is good that the illustration should bewell drawn, well coloured; given that, whether it be realisticallyimitative or wholly fantastic is quite a secondary matter. As we havehad pointed out to us, the child is not best pleased by mere portraitsof himself; he prefers idealised children, whether naughtier and moreadventurous, or absolute heroes of romance. And here a strange factappears, that as a rule what pleases the boy pleases the girl also; butthat boys look down with scorn on "girls' books. " Any one who has hadto do with children knows how eagerly little sisters pounce upon booksowned by their brothers. Now, as a rule, books for girls are confined tostories of good girls, pictures of good girls, and mildly excitingdomestic incidents, comic or tragic. The child may be half angel; he isundoubtedly half savage; a Pagan indifference to other people's pain, and grim joy in other people's accidents, bear witness to that fact. Tender-hearted parents fear lest some pictures should terrify the littleones; the few that do are those which the child himself discovers insome extraordinary way to be fetishes. He hates them, yet is fascinatedby them. I remember myself being so appalled by a picture that is stillkeenly remembered. It fascinated me, and yet was a thing of which themere memory made one shudder in the dark--the said picture representinga benevolent negro with Eva on his lap, from "Uncle Tom's Cabin, " ablameless Sunday-school inspired story. The horrors of an early folio ofFoxe's "Martyrs, " of a grisly "Bunyan, " with terrific pictures ofApollyon; even a still more grim series by H. C. Selous, issued by theArt Union, if memory may be trusted, were merely exciting; it was themild and amiable representation of "Uncle Tom" that I felt to be thevery incarnation of all things evil. This personal incident is quotedonly to show how impossible it is for the average adult to foretell whatwill frighten or what will delight a child. For children are singularlyreticent concerning the "bogeys" of their own creating, yet, like manyfanatics, it is these which they really most fear. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "MAKE BELIEVE. " BY CHARLES ROBINSON(JOHN LANE. 1896)]

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "JUST FORTY WINKS" BY GERTRUDE M. BRADLEY (BLACKIE AND SON. 1897)]

Certainly it is possible that over-conscious art is too popular to-day. The illustrator when he is at work often thinks more of the art criticwho may review his book than the readers who are to enjoy it. Purelyconventional groups of figures, whether set in a landscape, or against adecorative background, as a rule fail to retain a child's interest. Hewants invention and detail, plenty of incident, melodrama rather thansuppressed emotion. Something moving, active, and suggestive pleases himmost, something about which a story can be woven not so complex that hissense is puzzled to explain why things are as the artist drew them. Itis good to educate children unconsciously, but if we are too carefulthat all pictures should be devoted to raising their standard of taste, it is possible that we may soon come back to the Miss Pinkerton ideal ofamusement blended with instruction. Hence one doubts if the"ultra-precious" school really pleases the child; and if he refuse thejam the powder is obviously refused also. One who makes pictures forchildren, like one who writes them stories, should have the knack ofentertaining them without any appearance of condescension in so doing. They will accept any detail that is related to the incident, but arekeenly alive to discrepancies of detail or action that clash with thenarrative. As they do not demand fine drawing, so the artist must becareful to offer them very much more than academic accomplishment. Indeed, he (or she) must be in sympathy with childhood, and able toproject his vision back to its point of view. And this is just a mood inaccord with the feeling of our own time, when men distrust each otherand themselves, and keep few ideals free from doubt, except thereverence for the sanctity of childhood. Those who have forsaken beliefshallowed by centuries, and are the most cynical and worldly-minded, yetoften keep faith in one lost Atalantis--the domain of their ownchildhood and those who still dwell in the happy isle. To have given ahappy hour to one of the least of these is peculiarly gratifying to manytired people to-day, those surfeited with success no less than thoseweary of failure. And such labour is of love all compact; for childrenare grudging in their praise, and seldom trouble to inquire who wrotetheir stories or painted their pictures. Consequently those who work forthem win neither much gold nor great fame; but they have a mostenthusiastic audience all the same. Yet when we remember that theveriest daubs and atrocious drawings are often welcomed as heartily, oneis driven to believe that after all the bored people who turn to amusethe children, like others who turn to elevate the masses, are really, ifunconsciously, amusing if not elevating themselves. If children's booksplease older people--and that they do so is unquestionable--it would bewell to acknowledge it boldly, and to share the pleasure with thenursery; not to take it surreptitiously under the pretence of raisingthe taste of little people. Why should not grown-up people avow theirpleasure in children's books if they feel it?

[Illustration: THE SPOTTED MIMILUS. ILLUSTRATION FROM "KING LONGBEARD. "BY CHARLES ROBINSON (JOHN LANE. 1897)]

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "THE MAKING OF MATTHIAS" BY LUCYKEMP-WELCH. (JOHN LANE. 1897)]

If a collector in search of a new hobby wishes to start on a quest fullof disappointment, yet also full of lucky possibilities, illustratedbooks for children would give him an exciting theme. The rare volume hehunted for in vain at the British Museum and South Kensington, for whichhe scanned the shelves of every second-hand bookseller within reach, maymeet his eye in a twopenny box, just as he has despaired of ever seeing, much less procuring, a copy. At least twice during the preparation ofthis number I have enjoyed that particular experience, and have noreason to suppose it was very abnormal. To make a fine library of thesethings may be difficult, but it is not a predestined failure. Caxtonsand Wynkyn de Wordes seem less scarce than some of these early nurserybooks. Yet, as we know, the former have been the quest of collectors foryears, and so are probably nearly all sifted out of the greatrubbish-heaps of dealers; the latter have not been in great demand, andmay be unearthed in odd corners of country shops and all sorts of likelyand unlikely places. Therefore, as a hobby, it offers an exciting questwith almost certain success in the end; in short, it offers the idealconditions for collecting as a pastime, provided you can mustersufficient interest in the subject to become absorbed in its pursuit. Solarge is it that, even to limit one's quest to books with colouredpictures would yet require a good many years' hunting to secure a decent"bag. " Another tempting point is that prices at present are mostlynominal, not because the quarry is plentiful, but because the demand isnot recognised by the general bookseller. Of course, books in goodcondition, with unannotated pages, are rare; and some series--FelixSummerley's, for example--which owe their chief interest to the "get-up"of the volume considered as a whole, would be scarce worth possessing if"rebound" or deprived of their covers. Still, always provided the gameattracts him, the hobby-horseman has fair chances, and is inspired bymotives hardly less noble than those which distinguish the pursuit ofbookplates (_ex libris_), postage-stamps and other objects which haveattracted men to devote not only their leisure and their spare cash, butoften their whole energy and nearly all their resources. Societies, withall the pomp of officials, and members proudly arranging detachedletters of the alphabet after their names, exist for discussing hobbiesnot more important. Speaking as an interested but not infatuatedcollector, it seems as if the mere gathering together of rarities ofthis sort would soon become as tedious as the amassing of dull armorial_ex libris_, or sorting infinitely subtle varieties of postage-stamps. But seeing the intense passion such things arouse in their devotees, thefact that among children's books there are not a few of real intrinsicinterest, ought not to make the hobby less attractive; except that, speaking generally, your true collector seems to despise every qualityexcept rarity (which implies market value ultimately, if for the momentthere are not enough rival collectors to have started a "boom" inprices). Yet all these "snappers up of unconsidered trifles" help togather together material which may prove in time to be not without valueto the social historian or the student interested in the progress ofprinting and the art of illustration; but it would be a pity to confuseephemeral "curios" with lasting works of fine art, and the ardour ofcollecting need not blind one to the fact that the former are greatly inexcess of the latter. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "MISS MOUSE AND HER BOYS. " BY L. LESLIEBROOKE. (MACMILLAN AND CO. 1897)]

The special full-page illustrations which appear in this number must notbe left without a word of comment. In place of re-issuing facsimiles ofactual illustrations from coloured books of the past which wouldprobably have been familiar to many readers, drawings by artists who arementioned elsewhere in this Christmas Number have been speciallydesigned to carry out the spirit of the theme. For Christmas ispre-eminently the time for children's books. Mr. Robert Halls' paintingof a baby, here called "The Heir to Fairyland"--the critic for whom allthis vast amount of effort is annually expended--is seen still in theearly or destructive stage, a curious foreshadowing of his attitude in alater development should he be led from the paths of Philistia to thebye-ways of art criticism. The portrait miniatures of child-life by Mr. Robert Halls, if not so well known as they deserve, cannot be unfamiliarto readers of THE STUDIO, since many of his best works have beenexhibited at the Academy and elsewhere. 

The lithograph by Mr. R. Anning Bell, "In Nooks with Books, " representsa second stage of the juvenile critic when appreciation in a very acuteform has set in, and picture-books are no longer regarded as toys todestroy, but treasures to be enjoyed snugly with a delight in theirpossession. 

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "BABY'S LAYS" BY E. CALVERT (ELKINMATHEWS. 1897)]

Mr. Granville Fell, with "King Love, a Christmas Greeting, " turns backto the memory of the birthday whose celebration provokes the gifts whichso often take the form of illustrated books, for Christmas is to Britonsmore and more the children's festival. The conviviality of the Dickens'period may linger here and there; but to adults generally Christmas isonly a vicarious pleasure, for most households devote the day entirelyto pleasing the little ones who have annexed it as their own specialholiday. 

The dainty water-colour by Mr. Charles Robinson, and the charmingdrawing in line by M. Boutet de Monvel, call for no comment. Collectorswill be glad to possess such excellent facsimiles of work by twoillustrators conspicuous for their work in this field. The figure by Mr. Robinson, "So Light of Foot, so Light of Spirit, " is extremely typicalof the personal style he has adopted from the first. Studies by M. DeMonvel have appeared before in THE STUDIO, so that it would be merelyreiterating the obvious to call attention to the exquisite truth ofcharacter which he obtains with rare artistry. 

G. W. 

 * * * * *

The Editor's best thanks are due to all those publishers who have sokindly and readily come forward with their assistance in the compilationof "Children's Books and their Illustrators. " Owing to exigences ofspace reference to several important new books has necessarily beenpostponed. 

 * * * * *

[Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "NATIONAL RHYMES. " BY GORDON BROWNE(GARDNER, DARTON AND CO. 1897)]

For Younger Readers

BY MARTHA FINLEY

ELSIE DINSMORE. With illustrations by H. C. Christy. Large 8vo, cloth. $1. 50. 

ELSIE AT HOME. Similar in general style to the previous "Elsie" books. 16mo, cloth. $1. 25. 

BY RAFFORD PYKE. 

THE ADVENTURES OF MABEL. For children of five and six. With manyillustrations by MELANIE ELIZABETH NORTON. Large 8vo. $1. 75. 

BY BARBARA YECHTON. 

DERICK. Illustrated. Large 12mo, cloth. $1. 50. 

BY AMANDA M. DOUGLAS. 

CHILDREN AT SHERBURNE HOUSE, 12mo, cloth. $1. 50. 

NAN. A Sequel to "A Little Girl in Old New York. " Illustrated. 12mo, cloth. $1. 50. 

BY ELIZABETH STUART PHELPS. 

GIPSY'S YEAR AT THE GOLDEN CRESCENT. Uniform with the previous volumesof the same series. Fully illustrated. Large 12mo, cloth. $1. 50. 

BY ELIZABETH W. CHAMPNEY. 

WITCH WINNIE IN VENICE. With many illustrations. Large 12mo, cloth. $1. 50. 

PIERRE AND HIS POODLE. With numerous illustrations. 12mo, cloth. $1. 00. 

BY BEATRICE HARRADEN. 

UNTOLD TALES OF THE PAST. By BEATRICE HARRADEN, author of "Ships thatPass in the Night, " "Hilda Strafford, " etc. Illustrated. Cloth. Probably$1. 50. 

_The above are published by_

 Dodd, Mead & Company, FIFTH AVE. & 21ST STREET, NEW YORK

 * * * * *

Four Capital Books

Aaron in the Wildwoods

A delightful new Thimblefinger story of Aaron while a "runaway, " by JOELCHANDLER HARRIS, author of "_Little Mr. Thimblefinger and his QueerCountry_, " "_Mr. Rabbit at Home_, " "_The Story of Aaron_, " _etc. _ With24 full-page illustrations by OLIVER HERFORD. Square 8vo. $2. 00. 

Little-Folk Lyrics

By FRANK DEMPSTER SHERMAN. HOLIDAY EDITION. A beautiful book of verycharming poems for children, with 16 exquisite illustrations. 12mo. $1. 50. 

Being a Boy

By CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER. With an introduction and 32 capital full-pageillustrations from photographs by CLIFTON JOHNSON. 12mo, gilt top. $2. 00. 

An Unwilling Maid

A capital story of the Revolution, for girls, by JEANIE GOULD LINCOLN, author of "_Marjorie's Quest_, " "_A Genuine Girl_, " _etc. _ Withillustrations. $1. 25. 

 Few recent stories surpass it in the fortunate blending of vivacity and sweetness and stern loyalty to duty and tender and pathetic experiences. It is fascinatingly written and every chapter increases its delightfulness. --_The Congregationalist, Boston. _

_Sold by Booksellers, Sent, postpaid, by_

Houghton, Mifflin & Co. , _Boston_

 * * * * *

NEW BOOKS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS

_Three New Historical Tales by E. Everett Green, Author of "The YoungPioneers, " etc. _

A CLERK AT OXFORD, AND HIS ADVENTURES IN THE BARON'S WAR. 

With a plan of Oxford in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and aview of the city from an old print. 8vo, extra cloth. $1. 50. 

SISTER: A CHRONICLE OF FAIR HAVEN. 

With eight illustrations by J. FINNEMORE. 8vo, extra cloth. $1. 50. 

TOM TUFTON'S TRAVELS. 

With illustrations by W. S. STACEY. 8vo, extra cloth, $1. 25. 

_Two New Books by Herbert Hayens, Author of "Clevely Sahib, " "Under theLone Star, " etc. _

AN EMPEROR'S DOOM; OR THE PATRIOTS OF MEXICO. 

A tale of the downfall of Maximilian, with eight illustrations by A. J. B. SALMON. 8vo, extra cloth. $1. 50. 

SOLDIERS OF THE LEGION. 

A tale of the Carlist War. 8vo, extra cloth, illustrated. $1. 25. 

THE ISLAND OF GOLD. 

A Sailor's Yarn. By GORDON STABLES, M. D. , R. N. , author of "Every Incha Sailor, " "How Jack McKenzie Won His Epaulettes, " etc. With sixillustrations by ALLAN STUART. 8vo, extra cloth. $1. 25. 

POPPY. 

A tale. By MRS. ISLA SITWELL, author of "In Far Japan, " "The GoldenWoof, " etc. With illustrations. 8vo, cloth extra. $1. 25. 

VANDRAD THE VIKING; OR THE FEUD AND THE SPELL. 

A tale of the Norsemen. By I. STORER CLOUSTON. With six illustrations byHERBERT PAYTON. 8vo, cloth. 80 cts. 

THE VANISHED YACHT. 

By E. HARCOURT BURRAGE. Cloth extra. $1. 00. 

LITTLE TORA, THE SWEDISH SCHOOLMISTRESS, AND OTHER STORIES. 

By MRS. WOODS BAKER, author of "Fireside Sketches of Swedish Life, " "TheSwedish Twins, " etc. Cloth. 60 cts. 

A BOOK ABOUT SHAKESPEARE. 

Written for Young People. By I. N. MCILWRAITH. With numerousillustrations. Cloth extra. 60 cts. 

ACROSS GREENLAND'S ICEFIELDS. 

An account of the discoveries by Nansen and Peary. With portraits ofNansen and other illustrations. 8vo, cloth. 80 cts. 

BREAKING THE RECORD. 

The story of North Polar Expeditions by the Nova Zembla and SpitzbergenRoutes. By M. DOUGLASS, author of "Across Greenland's Icefields, " etc. With numerous illustrations. Cloth extra. 80 cts. 

_For sale by all Booksellers, or sent prepaid on receipt of price, Sendfor complete catalogue, _

THOMAS NELSON & SONS, Publishers, 33 E. 17th St. (Union Sq. ), N. Y. 

CHILDRENS' BOOKS

=The Blackberries=

Thirty-two humorous drawings in color, with descriptive verses, by _E. W. Kemble_ the famous delineator of "Kemble's Coons. " Large quarto, 9×12, on plate paper; cover in color. $1. 50. 

=Kemble's Coons=

Drawings by _E. W. Kemble_. A series of 30 beautiful half-tonereproductions, printed in Sepia, of drawings of colored children andsouthern scenes, by E. W. Kemble, the well-known character artist. Largequarto, 9½×12 inches; handsomely bound in Brown Buckram and JapanVellum printed in color. Price, $2. 00. 

=The Delft Cat=

_By Robert Howard Russell. _ Three stories for children profuselyillustrated by F. Berkeley Smith. Printed on hand-made, deckle-edgelinen paper with attractive cover in Delft Colors. Price, 75 cents. 

[Illustration]

=Chip's Dogs=

A collection of humorous drawings by the late _F. P. W. Bellew_("Chip"), whose amusing sketches of dogs were so well known. A new andimproved edition now ready. Large Quarto, 9½×12 inches, on platepaper, handsomely bound. Price, $1. 00. 

=The Autobiography of a Monkey=

A laughable conception in 30 full-page and 40 small drawings by _Hy. Mayer_, with verses by _Albert Bigelow Paine_. Large quarto, 7×9, withcover in color. Price, $1. 25. 

=The Tiddledywink's Poetry Book=

Illustrated by _Charles Howard Johnson_. A book of nonsense rhymes by_Mr. Bangs_, accompanied by most amusing pictures. Large quarto, withIlluminated covers, 30 full-page illustrations, colored borders to text. Boards. Price, $1. 00. 

=The Mantel Piece Minstrels=

_By John Kendrick Bangs. _ A most attractive little volume containingfour of Mr. Bangs' inimitably humorous stories, profusely illustratedwith unique drawings by _F. Berkeley Smith_; printed on hand-made, deckle-edge linen paper, and tastefully bound in illuminated covers. 32mo. Price, 75 cents. 

=The Dumpies=

Discovered and drawn by _Frank Verbeck; Albert Bigelow Paine_, historian. An entertaining tale in prose and verse, as fascinating as"The Brownies. " Large quarto, 8×11, with 130 illustrations and cover incolor. Price, $1. 25. 

=Tiddledywink Tales=

_By John Kendrick Bangs. _ A charming book for children. The drawings by_Charles Howard Johnson_ are quite in sympathy with the humor of thebook. Full cloth, gilt, 236 pp. 12mo. Price, $1. 25. 

=In Camp with a Tin Soldier=

_By John Kendrick Bangs. _ A Sequel to Tiddledywink Tales. Illustrated by_T. M. Ashe_, Jimmieboy's adventures in the Camp of the Tin Soldiers aremost amusing. Full cloth, gilt, 236 pp. 12mo. Price, $1. 25. 

=Half Hours with Jimmieboy=

_By John Kendrick Bangs. _ Illustrated by _Frank Verbeck_, _Peter Newell_and others. Sixteen short stories record the interesting adventures ofthe hero with all sorts of folks; dwarfs, dudes, giants, bicyclopædiabirds and snowmen. Full cloth, 112 pp. 12mo. Price, $1. 25. 

=The Slambangaree=

Ten stories for children by _R. K. Munkittrick_. On hand-madedeckle-edge linen paper. Price, 75 cents. 

=In Savage Africa=

_By E. J. Glave_, one of Stanley's pioneer officers. With anintroduction by Henry M. Stanley. Beautifully illustrated withseventy-five wood cuts, half-tones and pen-and-ink sketches by theauthor, _Bacher_, _Bridgman_, _Kemble_ and _Taber_. Large octavo, fullcloth, gilt. Price, $1. 50. 

=An Alphabet=

_By William Nicholson. _ Color plate for each letter in the alphabet. Popular Edition on stout cartridge paper, $1. 50. Library Edition, madeon Dutch hand-made paper; mounted and bound in cloth. Price, $3. 75. 

_R. H. RUSSELL, New York_

THE WAYSIDE PRESS, SPRINGFIELD, MASS. 

 * * * * *

Transcriber's Note:

Obvious punctuation errors repaired. 

Advertising page, "Navel" changed to "Naval" (The Naval Cadet)

Advertising page, "facination" changed to "fascination" (his usualfascination)

Advertising page, "irresistable" changed to "irresistible" (that isirresistible)

Advertising page, under The Golden Galleon, "Rainy" changed to "Rainey"(by William Rainey, R. I. )

Page 18, "n" changed to "in" (in comparison with all)

Page 47, "Keat's" changed to "Keats's" (or "Keats's Poems")

Page 54, twice, "De" changed to "de" (gather from Mr. De) (Mr. DeMorgan's process)

Page 70, "Tiddlewink" changed to "Tiddledywink" (Sequel to TiddledywinkTales)

Varied hyphenation was retained: woodcuts, wood-cuts and today, to-dayand folklore, folk-lore.