Rare Book School
Preliminary Reading List

Introduction to the History of Illustration

Erin Blake

Preliminary Advices

Required Reading

In preparation for the class, please read (or at least skim chapters 2 through 7) of:

John Harthan, The history of the illustrated book: the Western tradition (London: Thames and Hudson, 1981; paperback edition, 1997)

While you're working your way through Harthan, take a break from time to time to read the following shorter pieces on prints and printmaking:

William M. Ivins, Jr., How Prints Look. (Boston: Beacon Press, 1987.) Read from cover to cover, including the “Notes on a few points of interest” in the back. Prefer the 1987 revised edition (better image quality and a more logical order, though the added examples all concern modern fine-art prints, not prints used in books).

Antony Griffiths, Prints and Printmaking (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1996.) Skip the parts that concern only “art” prints if you like (i.e. start reading at p. 13, and skip pp. 64–76, 106–112). Note the handy list of abbreviations and glossary at the end, starting on p. 134.

Philip Gaskell, A New Introduction to Bibliography, (New Castle, Del.: Oak Knoll Press, 1995.) Read the sections headed “Decoration and Illustration” and “Processes of Reproduction” (that is to say, pp. 154–59 and 266–73 of the 1995 paperback edition.)

Avoid Bamber Gascoigne’s How to Identify Prints for the purposes of this course. It is a fantastic reference resource, but skimming its relentless bounty without a particular print to identify is a disquieting experience. The examples in Ivins and Griffiths are more than enough, and Gascoigne’s timelines aren’t always accurate.