Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F , Case EDUC, Shelf 1

Book Illustration

1880 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Birthday Book for Children was published in 1880. It had 12 colour and 350 tiny black and white illustrations like this one, with verses by Sale Barker. Kate Greenaway is known for her drawings and watercolour illustrations of quaint children in bonnets, sailor suits and pinafore dresses. She drew from life and made the clothes worn by her models. Her career took off around 1877 when Edmund Evans, a well known printer of children's books, risked printing large numbers of a book of her verses and illustrations. Despite being sold at six shillings instead of six pence, Under the Window still sold out at Christmas in 1878. Under the Window and The Birthday Book established a following for Kate Greenaway almanacs and calendars for the next 20 years. As with Beatrix Potter, the enthusiasm for her characters was exploited through the sale of dolls, wallpaper, fabrics, christening sets and clothes.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Pen and ink on paper
Brief description
Book illustration to Kate Greenaway's Birthday Book for Children, drawing of a topiary tree in pen and ink on paper, by Kate Greenaway, 1880.
Physical description
Line drawing of a triangular shaped topiary tree.
Dimensions
  • Height: 4cm
  • Width: 3cm
Credit line
Bequeathed by Henry Herbert Harrod
Object history
Bequeathed to the museum by Henry Herbert Harrod.
Subject depicted
Summary
The Birthday Book for Children was published in 1880. It had 12 colour and 350 tiny black and white illustrations like this one, with verses by Sale Barker. Kate Greenaway is known for her drawings and watercolour illustrations of quaint children in bonnets, sailor suits and pinafore dresses. She drew from life and made the clothes worn by her models. Her career took off around 1877 when Edmund Evans, a well known printer of children's books, risked printing large numbers of a book of her verses and illustrations. Despite being sold at six shillings instead of six pence, Under the Window still sold out at Christmas in 1878. Under the Window and The Birthday Book established a following for Kate Greenaway almanacs and calendars for the next 20 years. As with Beatrix Potter, the enthusiasm for her characters was exploited through the sale of dolls, wallpaper, fabrics, christening sets and clothes.
Bibliographic reference
Greenaway, Kate. Kate Greenaway's Birthday Book for Children. London, George Routledge and Sons, (1880)
Collection
Accession number
E.726-1948

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Record createdJanuary 6, 2004
Record URL
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