Unsung Louis Rhead

This is a return I hope that I will not need to repeat. Having been working on VIEW for over four years, I haven't needed to step away this long before—but those of you who are aware of my activities outside of VIEW, may know that I have been deep in a project over the past few months, which has all but engulfed me. I'm looking forward to getting back to VIEW much more regularly again. Here's one that's been stewing all this time.

Born into a family of ceramic artists, Louis Rhead (1857-1926) showed exceptional artistic talent early on, and was sent to study in Paris from his home in England at the age of 13. More study followed upon his return to England, and by 1881, Rhead left the family business of ceramics and began a career in publishing at Cassell in London.

The Snow Queen
Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales and Wonder Stories
1914

Rhead was not long at Cassell before he caught the attention of a New York publishing firm, D. Appleton.  He accepted a position as art director from them, and settled down in New York where he brought an element of Parisian Art Nouveau to an eager American audience.

During the 1890’s, the poster became a popular medium, and Rhead was in a great place to take advantage of it. He became one of the leading figures of the American Art Nouveau movement, and during most of that decade his graphic work regularly appeared in association with "Century Magazine", "Harper’s" publications, and "Scribner’s", among others.

When poster work began to decline, Rhead found new direction in the growing market for book illustration—where he became a contributor in the market of children’s classics. He regularly produced volumes with tremendous amounts of line illustrations, sometimes recalling the graphic styles of his earlier poster designs. Rhead produced many memorable volumes, including Treasure Island, Robin Hood, and Robinson Crusoe.

Rhead’s second passion in life became angling.  It was not long after the turn of the century that Rhead’s artistic talent and his interest in fishing joined—and in the latter part of his career—he not only illustrated numerous books on the subject, but became an expert on it, and an author as well. Illustration centered around fishing found markets in his own books, and in the early sporting magazines of the day, such as "Outdoors", and "Field and Stream".

In 1926 it was a fishing adventure that would end Rhead’s life. After an hour-long struggle with a 30-pound snapping turtle, Rhead landed the turtle, but the strain proved too much for him; he suffered a heart attack. Two weeks later a subsequent heart attack ended his life, at age 68.

Vivien
King Arthur and His Knights
1923

Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales and Wonder Stories
1914

Welcome to Sherwood

In an age before what is now known as "gaming".... before The Lord of the Rings had hit the big screen in any form, there were a different set of mythic heroes. They are still around, but they don't command the stage they way they did in a time before role-playing, blu-ray, and the "six-book series"...

Books that were read over and over, stories told for generations, were some of the tales that got the royal treatment when it came to illustrated editions that appeared near the turn of the last century. One such story that has always grabbed my attention is that of Robin Hood. I've always enjoyed that period in history, and that particular story. Many 1900 era publishers saw the appeal to the tale as well, and many saw fit to add it to their list at one point or another.
Of my illustration collections that Dover Publications has published, most are thematic by artist, but some are compiled by subject. The first of these was Illustrations of Poe, and the Arabian Nights illustrations were particularly well received. There are a half a dozen or so such titles now, but Robin Hood didn't grab the publisher's interest. I've collected quite a few editions, and thought it could be of some value to share them here on VIEW. Comparing how different artists look at the same story helps you find distinctions, that may help your own illustration or just enjoy one group more than another.

Some of my favorites—Walter Crane (top) near the end of his career, did Robin Hood in 1912. H.J. Ford (second) did his as part of The Book of Romance, in 1902. Howard Pyle's version (third) is full of premier quality line work, and was rewritten by Pyle as well, "to better suit the modern reader". Pyle's version is still reprinted today, and is often the version chosen for text when someone else throws their hat into the "Robin Hood Illustrated" ring.

An unusual arrangement took place between Frank Schoonover (fifth) and Louis Rhead, (fourth) where for a decade or so, books were produced with Rhead's line work, and a color Schoonover cover plate—even though Rhead got occasional color interior work. N. C. Wyeth's oil paintings (sixth) are among some of his best works for Scribner's Classics, and Frank Godwin's brilliant color plates from his 1923 edition (last) almost seem to mark the end of the era. (and these are just the tip of the iceberg...)