_A NEGLECTED FIELD._
A form of book illustration too much neglected, and one possessing
peculiar advantages, is Margina Illustration. Decorated or illustrated
margins may be associated in idea with the early monastic work, when the
solitude and gloom of the recluse's life was relieved by the little
enjoyment which must have attended the illumination of holy books, but
it is not quite the purely decorative to which I would refer.
In some modern editions, in which an old style is affected, a wide
margin on the top, bottom, and outer edge of the letterpress is
preserved so wide that ample space might be found to introduce such
trifling illustrations as would be amply sufficient to fix an impression
or suggest to the imagination of the reader ideas which the mere
letterpress might fail to awaken.
[Illustration: CANTO THE SECOND
Night wanes--the vapours round the mountains curl'd
Melt into the morn, and Light awakes the world.
Man has another day to swell the past,
And lead him near to little, but his last;
But mighty Nature bounds as from her birth.
The sun is in the heavens and life on earth;
Flowers in the valley, splendour in the beam,
Heath on the gale, and freshness in the stream.
Immortan Man I behold her glory shine,
And cry exulting inly, "They are thine!"
Gaze on, while yet thy gladden'd eye may see,
A morrow comes when they are not for thee;
And Grieve what may above thy sensless bier,
Nor earth Nor sky will yeild a single tear;
Nor cloud shall gather more nor leaf shall fall,
Nor gale breathe forth one sigh for thee, for all;
But creeping things shall revel in their spoil,
And fit thy clay to fertilize the soil.
'Tis morn--'tis noon--assembled in the hall,
The gather'd chieftains come to Otho's call;
'Tis now the promised hour that must proclaim
The life or death of Lara's future fame.
When Ezzlin has charge may here unfold.
LINE REPRODUCTION FROM PEN SKETCH.
(_Original 13 x 9 inches._)]
Too often our illustrations in books are separated from the text to such
a degree that a continuity of idea is all but impossible. We read,
perhaps--"Night wanes--the vapours round the mountains curl'd melt into
morn, and Light awakes the world. Man has another day to swell the
past," &c., &c., &c.; but long before we come to the page which
illustrates this delightfully pictorial passage from one of Lord Byron's
romantic works we read--"'Tis morn--'tis noon--assembled in the hall.
The gathered chieftains come to Otho's call:" and not perhaps until we
have passed the third or fourth stanza, and are trying to picture in our
minds the brilliant assemblage of Spanish chieftains, and the fierce
challenge of the accused Lara terminating with "Demand thy life!" do we
turn over a page and confront a dainty illustration of the opening lines
"Night wanes," &c.--an interruption as undesirable and distracting as
when the lecturer, through some mistake in the arranging of his lantern
slides, sees projected on the screen a photogram of the grim walls of
Newgate Prison, when, with the words "I will now show you a picture of
where some of England's heroes have found a resting-place," he expected
his assistant to put up a slide of Westminster Abbey. It is not always
possible even to get our book illustrations to face the matter which
refers to it, and even if that can be arranged, or the illustration can
actually come into the same page, the act of turning from text to
picture means an interruption and severing the continuous thought. Could
our illustrations appear in the margin, between the lines, mingled with
the letterpress, how smoothly we might _read_ the _illustrations_ along
with the text, and how bright and pleasing would the pages appear!
I have given a specimen page which may serve to better show the idea.
We will suppose some book of travel or poetry be set up in type by the
printer, and a proof copy be made up with broad margins under the
direction of the illustrator, who then takes it in hand and decorates
each page as desired; or the pages are pulled as proofs on two or three
kinds of paper, smooth for pen work, rough for crayon, or medium for
wash drawings--what delightful variety might be secured! When the artist
has added his marginal and inter-paragraph illustrations the pages are
photo-reproduced, the complete block including both letterpress and
drawings.
[Illustration: PENNED BY W.T. WHITEHEAD.
(_Original_ 15 x 12 _inches._)]
Of course the illustrations, if confined to the margins, could be
reproduced separately, and set up with the type in the same form. In
the example I have given on page 15, the letterpress was set up by the
printer to occupy a given space, the type used being a clear, bold
letter. This was printed from on two or three kinds of paper, and handed
to me to add the illustrative matter. The proof used was about thirteen
by nine inches, and this was subsequently reproduced by a simple zinco
process to the size here shown.
Of course the amount of letterpress possible on each page is small if
the illustrating be carried to any great extent. An edition of
Shakespeare's works treated in this fashion would of itself constitute a
small library, but for smaller works, or for single plays or single
poems, many a plain piece of reading might be by such means converted
into a very delightful and beloved book.
I have often thought that in fiction, when we read that the dainty
little _billet doux_ slipped under the door, written in my lady's
delicate and graceful style; or, the mysterious letter handed to the
hero written in a strange handwriting "ran as follows," how much more
forcible the thing would be if the author had given us a facsimile of
the letter. I never read a letter in a story without feeling it was the
author of the romance, instead of the character in the book, who
composed the letter. Thus an author might, in addition to feature,
figure, and dress, give us a fine suggestion of his _dramatis personæ_
by showing a little bit of their handwriting.