Arthur Rackham: On to Book Illustrations

Illustration from "Undine" by Arthur Rackham

"When Arthur Rackham was asked to contribute to a symposium on ‘The Worst Time in My Life’, he said that for several years at the beginning of his career he had had far from an easy time, but added that the Boer War ‘was a very thin time indeed for me, and may be considered the worst time I have ever had’. Rackham had little liking or aptitude for the sort of journalistic work then in demand, and realized, moreover, that the camera would soon largely supplant the artist in illustrated journalism. His financial success as an illustrator, though merited and overdue, was also a matter of practical necessity. 

So from 1893 onwards Arthur Rackham became increasingly occupied with book illustrations. His first published book (1893) was a travel brochure, 'To The Other Side' by Thomas Rhodes, now very scarce, for which he provided black-and-white drawings in the careful rounded style of his early watercolors. The drawings included views of Salt Lake City and San Francisco; of the Sentinel Rock, Yosemite, the Royal Gorge and Pike’s Peak, all based on photographs. 

More interesting than any of these early efforts were Rackham’s four halftone illustrations and cover design for the first edition in book form of 'The Dolly Dialogues' by Anthony Hope (1894), which had originally appeared without illustrations in the 'Westminster Gazette.' These drawings, stilted as they were, served to link Rackham’s name for the first time with a work of literary merit.

His work in the ’nineties displayed versatility and experiment. He was developing as a remarkable draughtsman. His pencil studies of old men show him to have learned from Charles Keene. Aubrey Beardsley had become another considerable influence, and with him the whole German school from Dürer to Adolph Menzel and Hans Thoma. The fanciful and poetic element gradually supplanted the conventional as Rackham’s technique developed."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Arthur Rackham: His Life and Work by Derek Hudson.")