The Detmold brothers get Wild

There is one other Fall '10 Calla Edition title I want to bring to talk about— one that came to the attention of Dover a few years ago when I was combing through the work of the brothers Muarice and Edward Detmold, to compile An Edwardian Bestiary, completely filled with illustrations from these two brothers. Early in their development, The two had found strength in animal representations. Their first book, Pictures from Birdland, (1899) contains some superb work, influenced by Asian woodblock prints, art-nouveau design, and the brothers own sensitivities to wildlife. Amazing stuff. Then look at the fact that they were teenagers (sixteen!) when they did the work, and you get an idea of the capabilities they had at their disposal.
The Brothers took on Kipling's Jungle Book as a subject for a portfolio of 16 plates in 1903. When they were later added to the text by the publisher Macmillan, it made for a beautiful edition of the work—but the plates with the text were very small, a fraction of the size they appeared in the portfolio. Calla is printing the plates larger than they have ever been printed with the text, including several images as spreads, with art reproduced from an original 1903 portfolio.
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The second book I will be developing in the next season will further Dover's look at Edmund Dulac. I've spoken twice about Dulac in the past year, the second time foreshadowing the coming of this title. After strong success with Dulac's Fairy Tale Illustrations, and continued peeks at his imagery in Poe Illustrated, Arabian Nights Illustrated, and others, Dover felt we had enough interest to support a broader look at the illustration work of this pillar of the Golden Age. I'm really looking forward to putting this project together. An Edmund Dulac Treasury will be available in February of 2011.

Rackham and Grimm, together again

I was surprised to find when I scanned my postings, that I had not yet devoted a post to discussing the work of Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) . Then again, his work is relatively easy to find, and I like digging for the stuff that you might not be familiar with. It was Rackham's work that kicked all of this research and book work off for me, back in '02.—and not without good reason. Dover had already been printing some Rackham material, and it had done fairly well, so I asked "Why hadn't we explored more of it?" With some caution, and the added lure of a market for people specifically interested in fairy tales, Dover put out Rackham's Fairy Tale Illustrations, which has been a solid seller ever since. (about to go into it's fifth printing)
For anyone who may not know, Arthur Rackham, is likely considered the premier British children's book illustrator of the Golden Age. He had a long and productive career in illustration, even when others found different creative ventures, Rackham was always able to find work drawing for tales. His images form many of the icons we hold in our minds when imagining fairy tales—his work was widespread and well sought after. His art tells great stories, and the dark details catch the eyes of elder readers as well as younger listeners.
Within the new books of the Calla line for the Fall, is one of Rackham's greatest collections of color work, his 40 plates for the stories of the brother's Grimm. This original volume was massive—for this new edition, Calla has taken out a few stories that may not have been illustrated at all, or perhaps featured only a small detail. All of the stories that accompany the 40 color plates are included. To the right are some of the gems, featuring Rackham's organic lines, and his soft, earthy tones. The Calla edition, like the others mentioned in previous weeks, is slated for a September release.
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NEW TO THE ILLUSTRATION/EDUCATION LINKS
Nestled in the hills of Stockbridge, Mass., you can find and visit the studio of the American illustration legend; Norman Rockwell. On the grounds nearby stands the Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies, rapidly becoming a Northeast stronghold for illustration history—Rockwell's and beyond—what came before and after. Keep an eye on the exhibit list, and the site offers a good deal of information as well.

And Speaking of the Bard

As I mentioned last week in a look at John Austen's Hamlet, the new Dover Fall '10 list has been released, and there are a number of titles there that will be of interest to VIEW readers.
Aside from the great reprints on the Calla Editions list, I have two new compilation titles that will bring some beautiful works to light as well. The first one on its way is Shakespeare Illustrated. This volume will contain works from classic volumes of golden age illustration, as well as some of the iconic imagery produced in gallery painting from the mid and late nineteenth-century. The section on A Midsummer Night's Dream, probably the most illustrated of Shakespeare's works, will feature works from Arthur Rackham and William Heath Robinson alongside paintings from Fuseli and Millais. Hard to find work by Norman Price, to J. W. Waterhouse...
Shakespeare Illustrated will have potential to appeal to illustration fans, Shakespeare fans, and set designers and costumers who deal with Shakespeare's plays will have a great resource of visual information, all to pull from this single volume. Images in this work will be arranged by play, as opposed to artist, which should provide interesting comparisons and interpretations, appearing side-by-side. Scheduled publication date is January, 2011.

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Aside from the Austen Hamlet, my fave on the new Calla Edition reprint list is probably René Bull's Arabian Nights, which I looked at on VIEW almost a year ago. Check out that listing here.

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Look for me at BEA, (Book Expo America) on Thursday!

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Top To Bottom:
Charles Robinson, The Songs and Sonnets of William Shakespeare, 1915
William Heath Robinson, A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1914
Arthur Rackham, A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1908
Edmund Dulac, The Tempest, 1908
Norman Price, Tales from Shakespeare, 1908(?)

A Royal Treatment for the Bard

Feeling a bit like an elf must feel on December 26th—the task of setting out a bigger list of cover designs for our Fall 2010 catalog is behind us. (If you don't know, I'm part of a team that designs over 500 new covers a year for Dover) In what I believe is our biggest list ever, there are at least six books that I will discuss here on VIEW in the coming weeks. Many won't see publication for a few months, but they are all in the works. A few of these are new titles that will be appearing in our Calla line. Most Calla titles are near facsimiles to early or first editions that appeared a century ago.

Calla is a line that Dover started a little over a year ago, the brainchild of Dover's current president. The line is near to my heart, for obvious reasons. It's aim is to produce beautifully crafted books, like so much of the material that I go through to put monographs together. Hardcovers, foil stamping, endpapers; the features that make books special— and great stories with even better illustrations. Their pricing is reasonable, and they are produced entirely within the US.

First one I want to look at is Shakespeare's drama, Hamlet. A great and classic story, but widely available. What makes this edition special?— The amazing line illustrations of John Austen. Austen had entered illustration as a career later than most—his first illustrations not being published until he was 35—but he found an interesting track working in a similar style to one of his artistic idols, Aubrey Beardsley. The twist, is that this group of images is something of a bridge between Beardsley's complex design-heavy style, and the influence of Art Deco on illustration in 1922. It was indeed a turning point for Austen, who began to simplify further after this project, never returning to the level of involvement that some of these images contain. It's a beautiful package from cover to cover. I'll get back to you shortly with a release date.

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I'm attending BEA (BookExpo America) for the first time this year. I'll be around the Dover booth, but out prowling the floor too, on May 27th.

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THIS JUST IN
The book has been announced for a September 16th release, at $25.00