Mary Carolyn Waldrep (editor) - By a Womans Hand: Illustrators of the Golden Age

Marigold Garden, 1885

18461901

One of the first women to earn a living as an illustrator, Kate Greenaway was born in London. Her father was a wood engraver, and she studied art at the National Art Training School, Heatherleys School of Fine Art, and the Slade School. She did a great deal of magazine work in the 1870s, several books for the publishers, Griffith and Farran, as well as books, greeting cards, and calendars for Marcus Ward.

In 1877, her father showed her sketches and verses to Edmund Evans, who, in association with George Routledge, published them as Under the Window in time for Christmas, 1878. The book was an immediate success. Taking the past as her inspiration, Greenaway created a idealized vision of childhood that captured the imagination of the public. By the mid-1880s, she was at the height of her success and Greenaway dolls, wallpaper, fabrics, christening sets, fashions, and other items were manufactured at home in England and abroad.

Under the Window, 1879

Kate Greenaways Birthday Book, 1880

Kate Greenaways Birthday Book, 1880

Pied Piper of Hamelin, 1888

Mother Goose or the Old Nursery Rhymes, 1881

Little Ann and Other Poems, 1883

Language of Flowers, 1884

Language of Flowers, 1884

Under the Window, 1879

Marigold Garden, 1885

Marigold Garden, 1885

The World, Shorter Poems by Christina Rossetti , 1923

Active 18871937

Florence Harrison is best known for her work for the Scottish publishing firm of Blackie and Sons for whom she illustrated some fifty books. When she began her association with the firm, she incorporated elements of the Glasgow decorative style into her own Pre-Raphaelite work.

Harrison was the first woman to illustrate a commercial edition of Christina Rossettis work. Living in Chelsea in London when she received the commission, she was commissioned to produce twenty-four full-page color plates, forty-eight full-page black-and-white plates, 120 headpieces and incidental pieces, and a cover. After two years of work, she produced thirty-six color plates and thirty-six black-and-white plates.

Little is known about her personal life, although she is known to have exhibited at the Royal Gallery in London from 18871891. Until recently, she was believed to be Emma Florence Harrison, who studied painting at the Glasgow School of Art, but recent evidence discovered by Mary Rosalind Jacobs of England suggests that she was an Australian artist named Florence Susan Harrison.

Strike the bells wantonly

A Peal of Bells, Shorter Poems by Christina Rossetti , 1923

In the room centre stood her husband

The Ghosts Petition, Shorter Poems by Christina Rossetti , 1923

And summer friend has fled

Songs in a Cornfield, Shorter Poems by Christina Rossetti , 1923

White and golden Lizzie stood

Goblin Market, Goblin Market and Other Poems by Christina Rossetti , n.d.

Pale spirits, wailing

Sleep at Sea, Goblin Market and Other Poems by Christina Rossetti , n.d.

She stood on inner ground that budded flowers

From House to Home, Goblin Market and Other Poems by Christina Rossetti , n.d.

My heart is like a singing bird

A Birthday, Goblin Market and Other Poems by Christina Rossetti , n.d.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit, 1902

18661943

Beatrix Potter, an only child, was born in Kensington in London. From an early age, she loved painting and drawing, particularly animals and plants.