The History of the Illustrated Book:: The Western Tradition

Citation

Rogerson, I. (1998), "The History of the Illustrated Book:: The Western Tradition", Library Review, Vol. 47 No. 4, pp. 242-242. https://doi.org/10.1108/lr.1998.47.4.242.6

This comprehensive and scholarly study by a former keeper of the library of the Victoria and Albert Museum was first published in 1981. In this reprint, issued in well‐designed hard covers, the publishers have presented Harthan’s text and chosen illustrations in splendid style and the type is both elegant and easy to read. Despite restricting his text to the Western tradition, the author has encompassed a vast field, with 500 images illustrating the development of the book from manuscript, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo periods, down to the twentieth century. Over 100 pages of text are devoted to the period from 1800 onwards and this is especially welcome. For it is here that the book‐collector of modest means has most chance of acquiring copies for himself, although the heavy presence of the Private Press movement and the prominence given to Artists Books partly offset this benefit.

The author’s short introduction offers some useful notions on the purpose of book illustration. Together with a bibliography, the book ends with some clear notes about the illustration processes. The 32 pages of colour appear to be faithfully rendered. This is probably the best comprehensive study at present in print and the publishers are to be congratulated on making it available to a new generation of bookbuyers.