Not currently on display at the V&A

'The Bubble'

Illustration
1887 (drawn)
Artist/Maker

Kate Greenaway (1846-1901) was a children's book illustrator and writer in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, commonly referred to as a 'golden age' of children's book illustration.

Prior to publishing her first book, Under the Window (1879), Greenaway contributed illustrations to several publications, including a colour plate, 'The Bubble', (for which this sketch is a preliminary study) and a sepia line illustration, 'Ambition', to William Allingham's Rhymes for the Young Folk, published by Cassell & Co. in 1887. Kate Greenaway's close friend, Helen Paterson, who later married William Allingham, also contributed illustrations to the book.

In 1889, Kate Greenaway sold her drawing to Mr. Pears, the soap manufacturer. It was engraved and printed in colour on an advertising handbill, opposite Sir John Everett Millais's painting, 'Bubbles'.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • 'The Bubble' (manufacturer's title)
  • <u>Rhymes for the Young Folk</u> (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
pencil on paper
Physical description
Very rough pencil sketch on paper of a girl looking up at a bubble in the air. Another faint figure on the left looks on.
Dimensions
  • Whole height: 202mm
  • Whole width: 187mm
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'AR' (Initialled in ink by Anne Renier on verso)
  • 'From the Library of Anne Renier and F.G. Renier' (Bookplate on verso)
Credit line
Donated by Anne Renier and F.G. Renier.
Object history
Drawn by Kate Greenaway for Rhymes for the Young Folk by William Allingham, published by Cassell & Co., 1887. Sold as lot no.47 in a sale of Kate Greenaway's watercolours, drawings and books, held at Phillips, London, on 16 November 1971. (See catalogue in the National Art Library: 861.AA.0177). Bequeathed to the V&A in 1970 by Anne and Fernand G. Renier as part of the Renier Collection.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Kate Greenaway (1846-1901) was a children's book illustrator and writer in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, commonly referred to as a 'golden age' of children's book illustration.

Prior to publishing her first book, Under the Window (1879), Greenaway contributed illustrations to several publications, including a colour plate, 'The Bubble', (for which this sketch is a preliminary study) and a sepia line illustration, 'Ambition', to William Allingham's Rhymes for the Young Folk, published by Cassell & Co. in 1887. Kate Greenaway's close friend, Helen Paterson, who later married William Allingham, also contributed illustrations to the book.

In 1889, Kate Greenaway sold her drawing to Mr. Pears, the soap manufacturer. It was engraved and printed in colour on an advertising handbill, opposite Sir John Everett Millais's painting, 'Bubbles'.
Associated objects
Other numbers
  • 38041802084244 - Previous National Art Library barcode
  • 862.AA.0047 - Previous National Art Library pressmark
  • 370821 - Previous National Art Library bib. no.
Collection
Library number
RENIER.433

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Record createdMay 9, 2008
Record URL
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