Category Archives: Art Collections
Walter Crane Decorations Mini-Package
Even when writing essays on socialism and the philosophy of art, Walter Crane was incapable of resisting an opportunity to add some decoration. In his book The Claims of Decorative Art, Crane embellished each chapter with an intricate decorative header featuring neoclassical and mythological scenes in his usual meticulous and detailed style.We’ve taken all of the decorations from the book …
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Odyssey – Illustrated by W. Heath Robinson
W. Heath Robinson was an artist of the first half of the 20th century who started his career as a book illustrator and produced many fantasy and fairytale illustrations, including illustrating Charles Kingsley’s The Water Babies. Later in his career he became a cartoonist producing humorous cartoons of fanciful weapons during the World Wars. One of his little known works …
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Goblin Market by Margaret Tarrant
Margaret Tarrant was a notable English children’s book illustrator of the early 20th century. She is best known for her fairy illustrations, published in books like The Forest Fairies, The Pond Fairies, and The Twilight Fairies from the publishing wing of the Medici Society. Although it had already been illustrated by several popular illustrators, like Arthur Rackham, Tarrant was called …
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Illuminated Initials from Early Manuscripts
In the mid-19th century Owen Jones undertook to catalog historic design and decoration in phenomenal detail and with exacting thoroughness in a series of beautifully illustrated books. The most famous of these is his Grammar of Ornament, which provides an overview of design and ornament from ancient times to the Renaissance. His next most notable work on historic design is …
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Eastlake Design Sampler
When we were renovating our house I discovered ornamental brass fixtures for the doors designed by Charles Eastlake. So I went shopping and found antique Eastlake hinges and knobs for all the doors. Charles Locke Eastlake (1836–1906) was the greatest British Arts and Crafts designer in the period after William Morris. Like Morris he combined principles of art and decoration …
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Walter Crane’s The Shepheard’s Calender
Another of Walter Crane’s interesting decorated books is his edition of Edmund Spenser’s epic poem The Shepheard’s Calender. It’s not as well known as Spenser’s The Faerie Queen which Crane also illustrated, but it has excellent illustrations and a particularly outstanding set of emblems with latin mottos which accompany the main illustrations. It also has a great frontispiece, decorative endpapers …
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The Illiad – Illustrated by W. Heath Robinson
W. Heath Robinson was one of the most popular and successful illustrators of the late 19th and early 20th century, known for his ability to draw and paint in distinctly different styles and for his unique drawings of complex fantastical machinery and for his topical cartoons. We have recently started actively adding Robinson works to our library (we also have …
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Charles Robinson – Illustrations for Perrault
We’re always acquiring classic books illustrated by great artists. One who we’ve recently started adding to our collection is early 20th century illustrator Charles Robinson. Robinson was the brother of illustrator and cartoonist W. H. Robinson and his father and another brother were also illustrators. Robinson is best known for his fairytale illustrations and his illustrations for Alice in Wonderland. …
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Holiday Fonts and Art
hatever holiday you celebrate, it’s probably a time of cards and presents and decorations and parties — that means you’re going to need great fonts and art to add elegance and unique flare to your seasonal projects. The Scriptorium Holiday Fonts and Art collection has the resources you need, including free samples and shareware demos, as well as a selection …
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Paul Woodroffe – Songs from Shakespeare
In the early 20th century there was a real boom in the market for high end books with a corresponding increase in the work of contemporary illustrators. The most famous artist to emerge in this period was Arthur Rackham, but he was joined by many others like William Russell Flint, Eleanor Brickdale and Frank Brangwyn, some of whom were incredibly …
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The Art of Eleanor Brickdale
Eleanor Fortesque Brickdale was one of the great illustrators of the later Victorian era, even though she is not as well known as some of her male contemporaries. She was strongly influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites like Waterhouse and Millais, and studied with Lord Leighton. Her work also shows the influence of the Art Nouveau period and even the Impressionists, but …
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American Beauties by Harrison Fisher
This is something very different from our usual offerings, but it caught my eye at a rare book store and I just couldn’t resist it. American Beauties was published in 1909 and takes its theme from the popular show rose of the same name. It’s an example of a particular kind of illustrated book which was popular in the late …
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