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Christa Zaat



Walter Crane (British artist and book illustrator) 1845 - 1915
A Floral Fantasy in an Old English Garden (plate 35), 1899
book illustration
Published 1899 by Harper in London
Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom

TOAD-FLAX is spun for BUTTER-AND-EGGS

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Walter Crane (1845-1915) was one of the earliest contributors to children's literature and one of the most influential illustrators in the development of children's colour picture books. Crane began working for Edmund Evans in 19864 producing bright, colourful children's books which revolutionised the type of children's books available. This book 'A Floral Fantasy In An Old English Garden' was published in 1899.

The colour processes for this book involved printing in relief, possibly from wood. The cut-off forms in the designs suggest the influence of Japanese woodcuts: a method of printing that greatly interested Crane.

46 full-page colour plates printed by Edmund Evans, Harper and Brothers, London. (Plates 3 and 44 are drawn from Crane's own figure.) The Walter Crane Reader: First and Second Primers by Nellie Dale. Title page and two full-page illustrations, many small drawings in colour by Walter Crane, J. M. Dent, London.