Down the Rabbit-Hole
A short history of children’s books and children’s book illustration

“Once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, ‘and what is the use of a book,’ thought Alice, ‘without pictures or conversations?’”--Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland



In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, very little was written and even less was published solely for the amusement of children. This is not to say that children were denied the pleasure of good storytelling, or of animal stories and fantasies. The fables of Aesop, La Fontaine and Gay diverted the minds of young readers. Originally intended for adult audiences, the Arthurian legends, the Arabian Nights, Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe were often reprinted in abbreviated versions. So by the end of the eighteenth century, some of the greatest tales of courage, adventure, passage and redemption had found their way into the hands of children.



Despite the popularity of these stories, and what might seem an obvious market for children’s entertainment, eighteenth-century publishers promoted the interests of adults even when they were publishing for children. By the middle of the century, there were cheaply produced children’s books designed to reflect the virtues of scholarship and obedience that adults sought in children. These chapbooks (so named for the peddlers or "chapmen" who sold them) were popular romances, adventures or fables--rewritten with strong moral content for the edification rather than the amusement of the young mind. By the end of the eighteenth century, moral examples and scientific lessons dominated the market, all but eliminating works that aimed to amuse and delight. Criticizing this trend, Charles Lamb, author of the 1802 children’s adaptation Tales from Shakespear, wrote: “Science has succeeded to poetry no less in the little walks of children than with men. Is there no possibility of averting this sore evil? Think what you would have been now, if instead of being fed with tales and old wives fables in childhood, you had been crammed with geography and history!”



One of the earliest calls for change had come over a century before Lamb’s criticism--with the publication in 1693 of John Locke’s essay, Some Thoughts Concerning Education, which attempted to address every aspect of a child’s upbringing. He argued that children were not ignorant, inept, or wicked “little” adults, but were emergent creatures with integrity. In particular, Locke thought reading should be taught as an amusement rather than a task. He believed that reading material should be selected for its ability to entertain, as better results were observed when children voluntarily engaged themselves in their own education. Locke thought that Aesop was particularly suited for this purpose, a conviction shared by his contemporary Sir Roger L’Estrange, whose 1692 Fables of Aesop was not only the first adaptation of Aesop for children, but also one of the earliest major publications specifically designed for children.



Locke was also concerned with the role of illustrations: “As soon as a child begins to spell, as many pictures… should be got him as can be found.” Over a century later, Locke’s advice was finally heeded. Whether by chance, fate, or the illuminating power of the pictures themselves, collaborations between storytellers and image-makers began to change the way children learned, read and beheld the book. Among the most important of these collaborations are the first edition in English of the tales of the Brothers Grimm, illustrated by George Cruikshank, and Lewis Carroll’s landmark work Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, with pictures that immortalized illustrator John Tenniel. Perahps the culmination of the golden age of children’s book illustration was reached in Arthur Rackham’s magnificently illustrated adaptation of J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. These stories gave birth to a new type of children’s book. Moreover, they led to a unity of story and illustrations and the formation of a partnership between author and artist.



Fairy tale collectors Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Perrault (whose tales are better known as those of Mother Goose) and the brothers Grimm are among the great early children's authors. Although the stories recorded by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were doing well, the first edition in English, which was also the first to be illustrated, particularly popularized the work among children. Published in London in 1823 and 1826, the Grimm’s German Popular Stories contained 22 lively engravings by the first of the great Victorian illustrators, George Cruikshank. Unlike earlier illustrations in children's books, Cruikshank’s engravings faithfully followed the events of the Brothers’ classic tales, bringing a high-spirited tone to the Grimm’s occasionally dark material. The brothers--who at the time of the English publication hadn’t yet realized the potential for their stories in the children’s book market--were duly impressed by Cruikshank’s work, and insisted his illustrations be used in later German editions. Cruikshank would go on to illustrate many other works, including Dickens’ Oliver Twist (1838) and the “Fairy Library”--versions of Hop o’ my Thumb, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella and the Glass Slipper, and Puss in Boots.



If Cruikshank’s edition of Grimm’s fairy tales can be said to begin the great age of children’s books and children’s book illustration, the publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with illustrations by John Tenniel marks the flowering of the age. Along with its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, the two books by Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Dodgson, marked children’s literature’s final break from the restrictive conditions of the moral tale. Carroll and Tenniel together created what is generally considered the greatest work of children’s literature ever to have been published. The importance of the illustrations to Carroll as well as Tenniel is unquestionable. When the first edition’s illustrations turned out poorly, the two agreed (on Tenniel’s suggestion) to the huge task of recalling the 1865 first edition of Alice. The final product was, of course, an immediate popular success. As a contemporary reviewer noted, Tenniel played no small part in this success: “Forty-two illustrations by Tenniel! Why there needs nothing else to sell this book, one would think. But our young friends may rest assured that the exquisite illustrations do but justice to the exquisitely wild, fantastic, impossible, yet most natural history of Alice in Wonderland.” For this reason--and despite their stormy relationship--Tenniel was the only illustrator Carroll would allow to illustrate Through the Looking-Glass, a task Tenniel reluctantly accepted, but whole-heartedly embraced.



By the turn of the twentieth century, children’s book illustration was an art form unto itself. Its success could be measured by the increasing volume of lavishly illustrated versions of classic tales. As the Victorian period of Cruikshank and Tenniel drew to a close, new artists provided images that would capture the imagination of a new generation of children. Foremost among these later visionaries was Arthur Rackham. A prodigy whose talents for drawing fantastic images were discovered at an early age, Rackham developed a reputation which ensured commissions throughout his career, leading to a number of beautifully produced children's books. These included his first book, a haunting yet magnificent version of Rip Van Winkle (1905), a version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1907) that seriously challenged Tenniel’s interpretation, and his last great work, Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows (1940). The most critically acclaimed of these gift books was Rackham’s adaptation of J. M. Barrie’s theatrical sensation, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (1906) This version preceded all other published editions of the famous play, including Barrie’s own novel Peter and Wendy (1911) and the first play edition, which was not published until 1928. Rackham's book contained 50 mounted color plates, each a magnificent example of his talent for creating magical lands inhabited by sprites and fairies and imbued with the innocence of childhood.



Rackham’s work demonstrates the tremendous changes that had taken place in illustrated children's literature since the previous century. Systems of moral instruction had been replaced by the enchantment of imagination; dull alphabets and primers were supplanted by an ever more elaborate series of images. And along with the stories they illustrated, these images would become a permanent fixture of childhood.



The development of the children’s book during the nineteenth century provided a rich background against which future partnerships between author and artist would unfold. Soon E. H. Shepard’s subtle line drawings would capture the foibles of A. A. Milne’s often clumsy and ever-hungry Winnie-the-Pooh. Moreover, the synthesis of pictures and stories paved the way for new generations of author-illustrators such as Beatrix Potter, Saint-Exupery, Dr. Seuss, and Maurice Sendak. So perhaps in this history one might find a response to Alice-who once thought before dreaming, “What is the use of a book without pictures?” For those who are still in some way children, there is very little use for such books.