By the end of the eighteenth century the idea of illustrated books for children had
become established and some of their authors had become well known-although others
still preferred to hide behind such phrases as ‘by the author of...’ or ‘by a lady’. These
books tended to emphasise religious and moral matters (not good illustrative material),
or social behaviour which was seen as the key to prosperity. By contrast, the early
nineteenth century turned towards more factual themes. Children’s books were of
course written by adults and for the most part bought by adults for their children. It is
surprising, therefore, that such poor quality material was for so long allowed to circulate
among the young by people who would not have tolerated similar standards in their own
books. Moreover it was the most scorned type of reading—the chapbook—which in the
end effected the revolution in children’s books.
The chapbook was a small, crudely illustrated booklet of about 2½×4 inches, which
could be easily carried in the chapman or pedlar’s pack as he traversed the countryside
selling ribbons, pins, ballads and other small items to villages and farmsteads. The
middle-class child probably only obtained sight of these cheap booklets through the
servants’ hall, but whether the child saw them or not, they certainly flourished among
the poorer and semi-literate members of the population. Their content was varied:
folktales, nursery rhymes, ballads, riddles, short entertaining or moral tales. All these
continued to flourish as a substratum of literature, ready to surface when the time was
right and a change had taken place in children’s reading, when fairy tales, folktales and
nursery rhymes were once again permitted in the nursery.
But while the crude woodcut illustration continued to prevail in the cheaper
productions for children, certain improvements were taking place. By the early
nineteenth century the rationalism so much in favour for children’s literature was being
supplemented by an appreciation of new discoveries of all kinds. The publishers William
Darton and John Harris caught the public mood admirably in the books they produced
over the next few decades. Nearly always didactic in content, these books sought to
bring to children an awareness of the wider world beyond the British Isles, as well as to
explore in depth the wonders of their own country. The titles of such works are
themselves revealing. John Harris produced a number of travel books specifically for
‘Little Tarry-at-Home Travellers’, while there were also such works as Scenes of British
Wealth (1823), Rural Employments (1820) and City Scenes; or A Peep into London for
Children (1828). Publications of this sort demanded, and got, plenty of illustration. But
since detail was essential in these pictures, engraving was the method most frequently
employed to reproduce them. This often meant that the books contained texts which
were separated from the pictures. These were usually grouped together, two or three to a
plate, for the technical reasons described earlier. This was not a very satisfactory
arrangement for the young child. Nevertheless, these books, often with the pictures
hand coloured, were a popular if rather expensive contribution to children’s reading. The
names of the artists employed are rarely known—it would appear that many quite well
known illustrators were prepared to contribute pictures to children’s books, but at this
period the standing of juvenile publishing was not such as to openly attract the named
artist. Much work remains to be done on the identity of artists working for both William
Darton and John Harris.
TYPES AND GENRES 219