Illustrations have almost entirely disappeared from modern adult fiction. If they do appear then the book may be seen as niche or lightweight; not serious fiction. But this has not always been the case. In the nineteenth century illustrations were regarded as an enhancement of the text, providing the bookseller with unique point of sale material and helping to promote the latest works by popular authors like Charles Dickens. In fact, Dickens’s first novel, The Pickwick Papers, began life as an illustration project by sporting artist Robert Seymour, for publishers Chapman & Hall. They wanted Dickens to provide stories around the illustrations; Dickens had other ideas.
In the Bromley House Library collection, there are many fine examples of the illustrators’ art. Some will be very familiar to readers, such as George Cruickshank’s illustration of Oliver Twist asking for more (Dc 152 facing page 15). Cruickshank captures the moment perfectly in his distinctive naive style.
The original 1848 edition of Vanity Fair (Dc 344) was illustrated by Thackery himself, who had been frustrated in his ambition to become a painter. They give the reader a rare view of how the author imagined scenes. The drawings are accomplished and often quite humorous (see “Miss Crawley’s affectionate relatives”. Facing page 106).
Few illustrated books reach the standard of those decorated by Gustave Dore, and a fine example in the collection is Cervantes’s Don Quixote (Dc 12). This 1868 edition contains over 200 of Dore’s imaginative illustrations, which display a deep understanding of the engraving and printing process.
Arthur Rackham was commissioned to illustrate a new edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in 1907 (DcJ 4610). Rackham presents the reader with a far darker, frightening nightmare vision of Lewis Carroll’s imaginary world than that conjured up by Sir John Tenniel in Through the Looking-Glass (1872 edition. DcJ 2548a).
There are many more fabulously illustrated volumes in the Bromley House collection. Happy hunting.
– Julian Pinnick