Study of Impact of Industrial Revolution in Child Book Illustration in Victorian Era(Walter Crane, Randolph Caldecott, Kate Greenaway)

Document Type : Case-study

Author

Faculty Member at Graphic Design Department, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Guilan University, Iran.

Abstract

One of the dimensions of revolutions in addition to the social practices, can be the development of technology and strengthening the foundations of a society based on upgrading the education. The industrial revolution in the Victorian period in the eighteenth century has been called the biggest change in human history due to the variety of inventions and mass production of goods. The industrial revolution was a profound social and economic process that changed the agricultural society into an industrial one. The enormous advances of the industrial revolution had certain social consequences. Workers from the densely populated villages were attracted to industrial cities, and the general measures of life advanced prominently. Social rights and a tendency to protect women and children led to the development of public education and literacy. Previously, the experience of aesthetics had exclusively belonged to a privileged minority community, but the industrial revolution brought color images into homes and gave it to all people in the community. Structures were changed for children and women in the society with affectionate treatment to children. At the end of the eighteenth century, child’s literature flourished and an increasing part of the publishing industry in the UK. The growth of such a process is due to the rising technology of the British community. There were 50 books per year in cities such as London, Edinburgh, and Newcastle.
According to modern standards, these books seemed very dry and their contents were centered on ethical and behavioral axes for children. But they were welcomed by the public because of their innovation. Gradually, by expanding the spread of publishing facilities and the growing awareness of artists, fun stories were written by authors and illustrated in parallel with it. The sweet voice and sweet images were added to the elements of the Victorian era. The Industrial Revolution with growth of the middle class, technological advancements in the production of books, the influence of new educational theories and the change of attitude to the psychology of child development, brought increasing numbers in the production and publishing of books for children by the middle of the eighteenth century.
The achievement of this period was effective in the changes in the social life of England. But the factors that cause industrial revolution and its nature to accelerate industry and economy are factors that affect the child’s book and the importance of the child. The queen’s wife, Prince Albert, performed the idea of setting up international exhibitions at the crystal palace in London. International exhibitions brought various products to the market so that the masses could enjoy their prosperity. Mass of industrial objects revealed manifestations of material and technique of rotation and then the middle class of society faced with new processing and facilities. The transition from medieval conditions to the modern state of applied art came to fruition in the late eighteenth century. A sudden mutation was observed in technical improvements. This emerged without hesitation due to deep thought changes that began with the reforms of the 17th century and prevailed in the 17th century. Rationalism and empirical sciences are the most important fields of European activity in the age of reason. William Morris, the leader of the movement, was under the influence of the splendor of the east art, especially Islamic art, and was widely used in his works on the forms of natural herbs that have Iranian origin.
On the other hand, with the advent of machine printing, traditional printing was gradually abolished and more possibilities were provided for illustrators to create elegance and image sensitivity. Iranian art showed an artist’s interest in imitation of Iranian decorations. Hence, he found the rhythmic movements. The Industrial Revolution was a double boon in England that brought with it a cultural stimulus. Victorian illustrators turned to the past for inspiration in their work, blending Victorian tastes with the virtues of the medieval past. The expansion of productions and the desire for knowledge and knowledge of the new world also increased competition among publishers and made them try to acquaint children and parents with the possibilities and benefits of picture books. Advances in the process of printing text and images simultaneously developed a new way of illustrating for children. 
The Golden Age refers to a period from 1880 to 1930, some of the best works of literature and art among the children’s literature. The golden age was the culmination of a progressive movement based on the developments of the Industrial Revolution, which first relied on literature dedicated to child literature, and is now regarded as a source of inspiration for young writers and illustrators. During the Golden Age, the literature for children was illustrated, although some of them exceeded the criteria of the child age group and included an understandable image for adults, but they were a turning point in the child’s education and development during their time period. They were represented in their works because of the paradigm of visual components that included realistic visions. The themes in which he was received included poetry books, childish stories, education, humor, mother and child, the words of the alphabet, the teaching of the alphabet. As a result of the industrial revolution and the improvement of living conditions, child mortality was reduced and the number of children’s books increased with the picture of the education bill and the way to find a larger number of children. In this period, some artists tried to spread simple and simple books for children.
Most of the early books were printed in white and in the style of wood printing or lithography. on the other hand, the inauguration of the crystal palace and the museum of natural garden of England and British politics, brought the arts of the tribes, and the variety of animal discoveries and typology to British society. Features such as characters, humor, wit and the presence of decorative motifs and return to intricate and intricate motifs were studied in illustration. With the rapid increase of readers and economic development stemming from new technologies, illustration is known as the golden age in the history of the child’s book, which moved to America after England. The elaborate show of the images of the three illustrators of the era, inspired young generations and continues to the contemporary era. One of these changes is the attention given to child literature and education. In the meantime, three artists on the battlefield opened windows to the world of childish imagination. According to the importance of the book for children, the present study is about the way that the industrial revolution affects the illustration of child books. This study aims to show that the industrial revolution has changed the mind and social approaches and causes tremendous changes in the child’s book. It was concluded that, at first the child’s picture books were ethical and educational, then with the advent of print technology and the development of vision and insight into society, illustration was turned into a childlike humor and an active presence of women and children.

Keywords


Bocola, S. (2009). Modern Art, (Translated by R. Pakbaz). Tehran: Farhang Moaser.
Corrick, A. J. (2001). The Industrial Revolution, (Translated by M. HaghighatKhah). Tehran: Ghoghnoos.

Delaney, M.R.) 2007). An illustrated revision of The Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States, Independently published.

Ghaieni, Z. (2011). The Children’s Illustration Book (History, Explains, kinds). Tehran: Tarikh- Adabyat Koodak.
Grenby, M. O. (2014). Children, childhood and Children’s Culture in the Eighteenth Century, Journal for Eighteenth Century Studies. Volume 29. Issues 3.P.313-319.
Holt, D., Cameron, D. (2010). Cultural Strategy: Using Innovative Ideologies to Build Brands, Oxford University Press.
Jacob, M. (1997). Scientific Culture and the Making of Industrial West, Oxford University Press.
Lundin, A. (2001). Victorian Horizons: Sensational Designs the Reception of the Picture Books of Walter Crane, Randolph Caldecott, Kate Greenaway, Scarecrow Press.
Meggs, Ph.b. (2009). The History of Graphic Design, (Translated by A. Farasat., Gh. FathallahNoori). Tehran: Samt.
 
Nudelman, E.D. (1990). American Illustrations, Grena. LA. Pelican Publishing Co.
Nodelman, P. (2006). The Images, Illustration Book, Audience, (Translated by B. Erfanian). Ketab-E Mah koodak va Nojavan. issue 4, 82-93. 
Pevsner, N. (1985). Pioneer Modern Drawing, (Translated by F. Esalat). Tehran: Tehran University.
Ray, G. N. (1991). The Illustration and the Book in England from 1790 to 1914, Courier Dover Press.
Temple, Ch., Martiens, M. (2006). Children’s Book in Children’s Hand: An Introduction to Their Literature, Boston; Person Education, Inc.
Walley, J. I., Chester, T. R. (1980). History of Children’s Book Illustration, Victoria Albert Museum, London.
Wrigley, E. A. (2018). Reconsidering the Industrial Revolution England and Wales, Journal of Interdisciplinary History. 49.1, 2-42.
 
URLs:
-URL1: https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and Victorians/articles/Victorian-readers (Access Date: 15/2/2021).
-URL5:www.britishlibrary.com, aspects-of-the-victorian-book (Access Date: 22/5/2021).
-URL6 :http://chicago.cbslocal.com, Davilla, Jonathan (2008). Industrial Revolution at 1800, World History, (Access Date: 2/4/2021).
-URL7: www.childrenslibrary.org/icdl/ bookid=smibaby_00360158&twoPage1808, (Access Date: 9/4/2021).
URL11:www.kodomo.go.jp/ingram/writerdl.ndl.go.jp/search/searchResult?featureCode=all&searchWord=literatutrhistory &full text (Access Date: 5/1/2021).
-URL12:www.spacewhaleco.com/product/william-morris-bird (Access Date: 22/5/2021).
-URL13 :www.worldofillustrationhistory.org (Access Date: 2/3/2021).