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Alphabet of old friends (p. 6 and plate 6)
Alphabet of old friends (p. 6 and plate 6)
TitleAlphabet of old friends (p. 6 and plate 6)
AuthorUnknown
PublisherGeorge Routledge & Sons
Publisher LocationEngland--London
United States--New York--New York
Publication Date[1874-1876?]
PrinterEvans, Edmund, 1826-1905
IllustratorCrane, Walter, 1845-1915
Image Production ProcessRelief prints--wood engravings
NotesIllustrated with color printed wood engravings mounted on linen. Engraved and printed in color by Edmund Evans.
One of Walter Crane's Toy Books, Shilling series. This is an alphabet of nursery rhymes.
Pages have blank
The illustrations depict the letters W, X, Y, and Z and the text explains the letters X, Y, and Z. "W" is for "Where are you going my, my pretty maid?" and shows a man proposing marriage to a woman going milking. "X" is for "Cross X patch" and depicts an old woman sitting by a spinning wheel and drinking tea. "Y" is a rhyme about the days of the week. In the accompanying illustration, the days of the week are represented by children. "Z" stands for Zodiac. The twelve signs of the Zodiac are depicted around the border of the plate.versos.
Contextual NotesIdentified by some as the "father of the illustrated children's book" Walter Crane sought to create books that would appeal specifically to children. A member of the Arts and Crafts movement and influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and Japanese color prints, Crane preferred bright colors and completely outlined contour drawing. It was his belief that "Children, like the ancient Egyptians, appear to see most things in profile, and like definite statements in design. They prefer well-defined forms and bright, frank color."
Showing the influence of Japanese artists, Crane signed each image with a rebus, a symbol of a crane standing within a "C" in the lower right corner of each image.
Edmund Evans was an English engraver and printer who is believed to be one of the first to use color prints in publications. His association with Crane began in 1863 and their first collaboration, a toybook, was published in 1865.
Subjects (LCSH)Alphabet rhymes; Nursery rhymes; Illustrated children's books
CategoryAlphabet books
Nursery rhymes
LanguageEnglish
Digital CollectionChildren's Historical Literature Collection
Digital ID NumberCHL0345
RepositoryUniversity of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Division
Repository CollectionChildren's Historical Literature Collection PE1155.C72 1875
Object TypeBook
Physical Description6 leaves, [6] leaves of plates : illustrated ; 26 x 22.5 cm.
Digital Reproduction InformationScanned from original book at 400-600 dpi in TIFF format using a ScanMaker 6800, resized and enhanced using Adobe Photoshop, and imported as JPEG2000 using Contentdm's software JPEG2000 Extension. 2008.
Exhibit ChecklistExhibit checklist 4.2
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