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The Golden Age of Illustration is a term applied to a time period (1880s - 1920s) of unprecedented excellence in book and magazine illustrations by artists in Europe and America. Advances in technology at the time allowed for accurate and inexpensive reproductions of their art, which allowed quality books to be available to the voracious public demand for new graphic art.
When many people think of the Golden Age of Illustration, Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, and other male artists come to mind, but there were also female artists that excelled during this time.
Margaret Evans Price was one such artist that produced magical work, so learn a bit more about her and her art below...
Margaret Evans Price (1888 - 1973) was an American children's book illustrator and author, but did you know that she was a co-founder of Fisher Price, one of the world's most popular toy manufacturers? Margaret was interested in art from a young age and when she was twelve, she sold her first illustrated story to the Boston Journal. She received a formal art education in Boston at the Boston Academy of Fine Arts, then moved to New York City for freelance illustration work. There, she worked for publications like Harper & Brothers, Rand McNally, and Stecher Lithography creating illustrations for children's books of fairy tales and myths. But illustration work was not her only career path as in 1930, along with her husband, Irving L. Price, Helen Schelle, and Herman J. Fisher, Margaret co-founded the Fisher-Price toy company that still exists today. She was the first Art Director of Fisher-Price where she designed push-pull toys based on characters from her children's books. Margaret continued to exhibit her art in national galleries in the U.S. after the formation of Fisher-Price. Her art was not only published in children's books, but also in Nature Magazine, The Women's Home Companion, and Pictorial Review. A permanent collection of her works are housed at the New York Historical Society. Margaret's simple, graphic style, combined with her beautiful compositions, makes her art enchanting for children and adults. Check out her work below:
From Once Upon a Time - A Book of Old-Time Fairy Tales, 1921
From Enchantment Tales for Children, 1926
From A Child's Book of Myths, 1929
From Once Upon a Time - A Book of Old-Time Fairy Tales, 1921
From Off to Bed, 1920
Cinderella & Her Godmother, 1939
From Once Upon a Time - A Book of Old-Time Fairy Tales, 1921
The Land of Nod, 1916
The Old Woman & Her Pig, 1928
From A Child's Book of Myths, 1926
On the Road to Storyland, 1926
From A Child's Book of Myths, 1926
Beauty & The Beast, 1921
Little Red Riding Hood & The Wolf, 1921
From A Child's Book of Myths, 1926
And if you'd like to read a full children's book that Price illustrated, you can find The Troubles of Biddy HERE
Enchanted Conversation's contributing editor, Amanda Bergloff, writes modern fairy tales and speculative fiction. Her work has appeared in various anthologies, including Frozen Fairy Tales, After the Happily Ever After, and Uncommon Pet Tales. Follow her on Twitter @AmandaBergloff Join her every Tuesday on Twitter for #FairyTaleTuesday to share what you love about fairy tales, folktales, and myths. Also, if you like sharing your #vss fairy tales on Twitter, follow @fairytaleflash and use #FairyTaleFlash so we can retweet! Cover: Amanda Bergloff