The History of Children's Book Illustration

With the rise of Industrustrial Revolution in the late 18th century, many workhouses, men, women, children were forced to work long hours for money, but it also spurred many changes that led to the Golden Age of Illustration.

Innovations in printing and engraving techniques meant that publications could be created faster and reach more people than ever before.

The Industrustrial Revolution created tons of middle classed people, more people will have money to buy books, and for their children.

This newfound demand for books for children required authors and illustrators who were willing to create stories and illustrations solely for children.

The arc of children’s literature and illustration begins in the late-18th century with George Cruikshank’s illustrations for German Popular Stories, the first time that a popular author deigned to create artwork for a children’s publication

The Golden Age of Children's Book Illustration

George Cruikshank’s

Referenced From Norman Rockwell Museum:

Who is George Cruikshank?

～ George Cruikshank's Fairy Library ～

Biography
Born in London to Isaac and Mary (MacNaughton) Cruikshank, George Cruikshank (1792-1878) was indoctrinated into the world of art at a young age. Isaac Cruikshank had established himself as one of London’s leading political caricaturists in the 1790s. After attending elementary school for a brief period, George became his father’s apprentice and studio assistant where he could “play at etching on some of his copperplates.”[1] As a boy, George would etch bits of shadow or add background figures to his father’s work, and as he grew older his father would assist him with parts of his own etchings. Aside from these lessons in his father’s studio, his education and inspiration came primarily from the streets of London rather than a classroom. He was able to observe people of all social classes within his own neighborhood, a practice which served him well in his career as a caricaturist.
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He was one of the first artists to provide humorous, spirited illustrations in books for children.

Monstrosities of 1819 and 1820, one of George's famous creational art piece