Prophets in Israel. London: Ward and Lock, [between 1854 and 1861]. (Cotsen 151755)
“Sixpenny Stunners” is nearly ready to install in the Cotsen public gallery. It will feature toy books, the fully illustrated pamphlets for children, issued 1860-1900 by the London publishers George Routledge & Son, Frederick Warne, Gall & Inglis, Ward, Lock & Tyler, Darton & Hodge, and Dean & Son Ltd. Their eye-catching color-printed wrappers in yellow, pink, green and lavender papers cover bible stories, fairy tales, nursery rhymes, verse stories with music, novelties, painting books, and paper dolls.
The pamphlets from each of the firms display distinctive styles of packaging, which also reflect the design challenges of creating strong covers. A common technique is to repeat one of the most memorable text illustrations on the cover to draw prospective purchaser and reader into the story. Walter Crane’s version of Jack and the Bean-stalk features the same illustration on the cover and the first text page, with some clever variants. The colorways are different, but so are the text panels in the upper right hand corners. The one on the cover has been drawn to look like a scroll, while the interior one has a few more flourishes.
Jack and the Bean-Stalk. [London]: George Routledge and Sons, [not before 1882]. (Cotsen 151851)
(Cotsen 151851)
A cover design does not always refer to the contents, like The Book of Quadrupeds clothed in a gorgeous double frame of stylized flowers and vines surrounding a central medallion. A picture of an animal seems much more appropriate, but the obvious choice was probably ruled out by the technical difficulties of reproducing the wood engravings with all the fine lines and cross-hatching cleanly on the cover.
Book of Quadrupeds. London: Sampson Low, Son, & Co., [between 1856 and 1863]. (Cotsen 27320)
(Cotsen 27320)
Pamphlets issued as volumes in a publisher’s series may be bound in covers with a uniform rather than an individual design. Marcus Ward’s “Royal Illuminated Legends for Great Folk for Lyttel Folke” were all decked out in covers printed in gold that reinterpreted medieval manuscript illumination in a contemporary style. The series design worked well enough for the ballads and fairy tales, but looks a little out of place on Pocahontas: A Tale of Old Virginia.
Pocahontas : a Tale of Old Virginia. London: Marcus Ward & Co., [1872?]. (Cotsen 150292)
(Cotsen 150292)
Perhaps the most ostentatious are the so-called fairground covers, with the titles composed of fancy display types known as “fairground faces” surrounded by equally ornate borders. Master Mousie’s Supper Party, a verse tale enlarging upon the familiar proverb “the mice will play while the cat’s way,” was a good candidate for this kind of cover for several reasons. The full-page color illustrations were so crammed with details that they were probably judged too busy for the cover. Another equally pressing reason may have been that one of the best pictures–showing the party out of bounds– was a little indelicate.
Master Mousie’s Supper Party. London: Ward, Lock & Tyler, [between 1865 and 1873?]. (Cotsen 15702)
(Cotsen 15702)
It comes as something of a surprise that the names of the printers of the covers, such as Kronheim & Co or Leighton Brothers, appeared in small type below the frame or border. They were considered the stars of the project and were more likely than the pamphlet’s illustrator to be credited for their contribution—and that could include masters Randolph Caldecott and Walter Crane!
(Cotsen 15702)
“Sixpenny Stunners” will be on display until spring: in the winter, a second selection of covers will rotate into the cases.