BOOK ILLUSTRATION TODAY

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25377, 27 December 1947, Page 5

BOOK ILLUSTRATION TODAY

(Specially Written for “The Press.”) [By JOHN FARLZIGH] In 1947 one is conscious of a little change in the approach to the illustrated book. In their different ways the public, the printer, the publisher, and the artist have contributed to a movement that, at present, is but a faint stirring. Yet this faint stirring may have a profound influence in the course of the next two years. There is a tremendous demand for illustrated picture books, both children’s books and well-illustrated books of the arts. This shows an appetite not evident before World War 11.

Modern typographers have prepared the way for this renaissance over the last 10 or 15 years. Typography has now reached such a high level of accomplishment that it might be said to have laid the foundations and prepared the way for the beautiful book. A style of printing has been evolved, in the best tradition of fine typography and at the same time contemporary in feeling. Publishers have been quick to grasp the importance of this development. It needs only the work of the good artist to complete the team necessary for the production of good illustrated books. Recent Exhibition in London

I have often written that the future of book illustration will depend on whether important artists can be drawn into that particular field. The London exhibition of book illustration, held by the National Book League, supported this belief' All books in the infancy of bookmaking were superbly illustrated, yet we have been forced to witness a steady decline. As mechanical progress made the book easier to produce and more accessible to the public there has been a proportionate decline in quality of craftsmanship.

This was most noticeable during the last 40 years of the nineteenth and the first 20 years of the twentieth century. Book production, that is, typographic and illustrated matter, seemed then to reach its lowest ebb. With the exception of a handful of artistprinters who worked with private presses, cragsmen and artists deserted books for the isolation of their studios or the more profitable fields of industrial design. The experiments and achievements of William Morris and his Kelmscott Press had, however, borne fruit. During these lean years one finds isolated presses working in the best English traditions, while the general decay continued up to World War I.

In 1918 the private presses began again in earnest, but by this time several first-class commercial printers were evolving their own excellence of form. Good typography spread * from the edition-de-luxe to the cheap book, when the “collector’s book” received its death-blow with the slump of 1932. The private presses, however, had done a very important thing. They created a group of artists who were engravers used to the problems of good book-work. A few years later lithography was to discover itself as a medium for illustration. It is significant that the best books of the last eight years are those illustrated by artists who are lithographers and engravers. Most of them were trained by the publishers and printers who had produced fine books. It is no surprise therefore to find few new names of important artists among the best illustrated books oi the last 10 years. Those who are established in the book world maintain, without doubt, the prestige of Britain. Such people as Edward Bawden, Stephen Gooden, Nicolas Bentley, Percy Bliss, Barnett Freedman, David Jones, Clarke Hutton, Osbert Lancaster, Agnes Miller Parker, and John Nash made a fine team of first-class artists. The few new names, a welcome addition, include Ardizzone, Michael Ayrton Tisdall, Brandt. Joan Hassall, Mercya Peake, and John Piper, all of whom have appeared in the last few years. A serious loss to books and the art world has been suffered by the deaths of Eric Gill, Ravilious, Paul Nash, and Rex Whistler. All these men had produced some of our most beautiful books. Developed a Style There is in this group of artists, however, a special team of men and women. They have cultivated a high standard of craftsmanship in their approach to the peculiar problems of the book. What is more, they have, with a growing confidence, developed a style, in their own particular medium, establishing them as masters. If we choose to be more critical we may detect a lack of experiment and daring that is not entirely the fault of the artists. The very factors that have made them so masterly in their job have restricted the field for experiment. Respect for the rest of the team makes the illustrator consider the various aspects of the book and the many craftsmen concerned in its making. This has resulted in bookwork sound but lacking daring. The artist will always reflect the conditions under which he works. His lack of daring is a reflection of the overcautious approach of the publisher and printer. Many first-rate artists must have been lost to books because lithography and wood-engraving are the only methods allowing the artist to impose his own ideas on the reproduction of his work. All the photographic methods are still used for facsimile reproduction and poorly at that. With the exception of a few experiments in collotype and rather more in photolitho. block-makers have no conception of the possibilities of the so-called facsimile methods. It is not enough to say that the artists must experiment, for they cannot do this without the co-operation of the block-maker. Attempts have been made, that I could quote, but they have met with discouragement. Block-makers are not happy when they break from their traditional methods. Even the much despised half-tone has possibilities as yet unexplored. The humble line block, capable of maintaining the most sensitive line, is often roughly treated by the printer. While these conditions remain we must go on training artists to make clear, strong drawings to compensate for bad blocks and printing. Elegance and Charm

Britain’s books are examples of sound principles. Perhaps we are a little afraid of elegance and charm, yet these are among the most typical of English traits, as was so evident in the eighteenth century. Stephen Gooden, Rex Whistler and Eric Ravilious have brought these qualities into their work. They rank among our best artists and book illustrators. Thus far one can comment on books of the last decade. What of the change that is taking place? I think that for the next two years the publishers will have the opportunity to gain the interest of the better artists before they have retired once more into their studios or become absorbed by industry. There is already, some evidence that this is happening. Hans Feibusch has just illustrated “Revelations,” published by Collins. It is his first appearance in book work and it’s a fine effort. From his previous medium, mural decoration, to the reduced scale of a book is no easy task of adaptation. Anthony Grosz is illustrating Hans Andersen; Bernard Meninsky will soon be appearing in a book he has illustrated: and Frank Dobson, the sculptor, is already at work on some experiments for the Sylvan Press.