Advances in technology are often accompanied by a flowering of creative expression, and the turn of the twentieth century witnessed exactly such union of art and commerce. The Golden Age of Illustration arose from improvements in printing techniques that introduced a sudden explosion of color in books and magazines. English artist William Heath Robinson (1872-1944) ranks among the era's most prominent illustrators, and this original anthology presents more than 100 of his Art Nouveau-inspired images, many of them in glorious full color. Edited and with an Introduction by Jeff A. Menges, an expert on Golden Age illustrators, this compilation is the first full-scale treatment of works from the early years of Robinson's long and prolific career. Featuring illustrations inspired by the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen and Charles Perrault and the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe and Rudyard Kipling, these illustrations include scenes from Shakespeare, Rabelais, and Chaucer. Examples from Robinson's original stories, The Adventures of Uncle Lubin and Bill the Minder, convey the artist's characteristic humor. Readers of all ages, especially those interested in book illustration, will rejoice in this sumptuous collection of Golden Age art.
