Report: Women Illustrators at the Birmingham School of Art, 1880-1920 | Research Access Grant (Student) recipient

Reports

20 January, 2025 -

Michelle Reynolds, PhD student in Art History and Visual Culture at the University of Exeter, reports on research undertaken into Women Illustrators at the Birmingham School of Art, 1880-1920 which was supported by the DHS Research Access Grant (Student).

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Using my DHS grant, I visited the Birmingham School of Art archive housed at the Birmingham City University to work on a project titled ‘Women Illustrators at the Birmingham School of Art, 1880-1920’. This project explores how the women illustrators trained at the Birmingham School of Art at the turn of the twentieth century, such as Georgie Gaskin, Celia Anna Levetus, and Florence May Rudland, contributed to producing illustrated books which challenged mainstream design ideals.

The training provided by the Birmingham School evoked the design principles of William Morris and his interest in turning to fifteenth-century woodcuts and Medieval manuscripts for inspiration. Women illustrators at the Birmingham School followed these design ideals in their contributions to illustrated books produced by the school. These women illustrators not only abided by Morris’ design principles, but they also engraved wood blocks—a method of reproduction that began to become obsolete in the 1880s and was also popularised by the Arts and Crafts movement.

My research at the Birmingham School of Art archive included consulting original editions of two books illustrated by Birmingham School members. These two illustrated books, titled A Book of Pictured Carols Designed Under the Direction of Arthur J. Gaskin (1893) and A Book of Nursery Songs and Rhymes (1895), were designed with the ideals championed by Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement in mind, with decorative borders, readable typefaces, and effective illustrations mimicking the artistic qualities of woodcuts.

In the first illustrated book, A Book of Pictured Carols Designed Under the Direction of Arthur J. Gaskin, a news clipping is featured in the front, evidencing Morris’ interest in and praise of the Birmingham School, noting ‘these Birmingham artists [have] contributed perhaps the only new feature to the exhibition of the Arts and Crafts Society, and the drawings in this dainty little book are admirable and most interesting examples of their work…’. The designs of six women illustrators are featured, including Georgie Gaskin, Mary J. Newill, Violet M. Holden, Florence May Rudland, Agnes P. Manley, and Mildred Peacock. Not only does this illustrated book feature the designs of women illustrators, but it also credits the work done by women engravers such as Peacock. This use of engraving demonstrates the Birmingham School’s commitment to championing traditional techniques in book design. The illustrations designed by these women showcase their abilities as artists/designers and their savvy know-how in conforming to styles popular at the turn of the century, such as Arts and crafts-inspired work, to remain relevant in a crowded and competitive market.

The second illustrated book, A Book of Nursery Songs and Rhymes, is a testament to the equal opportunities provided to women at the Birmingham School. It features the designs of eight women illustrators, including Kate E. Bunce, Georgie Gaskin, Celia Anna Levetus, Agnes P. Manley, Mary J. Newill, Mildred Peacock, Florence May Rudland, and Winifred Smith. The fact that more women illustrators are featured in this illustrated book than male illustrators indicates the Birmingham School’s commitment to gender equality. This illustrated book also features elaborate border designs, many of which were contributed by Georgie Gaskin. Many of the women illustrators featured in this illustrated book would also go on to contribute to important periodicals and illustrate books commissioned by well-known publishers. By producing their own illustrated books, the Birmingham School followed the Arts and Crafts ethos championed by Morris and promoted the work of their graduates in a commercial setting.

The tangible experience of examining these two illustrated books has deepened my understanding of their production process and the materiality of the designed object. A key component of the Birmingham School’s work was illustrated books which were commercially manufactured but still adhered to the ‘handmade’ principles of Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. Their use of paper combined with printing techniques which returned to wood block engraving as opposed to the mechanical processes of the late nineteenth century was an aspect of Birmingham School book design to which women illustrators readily contributed.

Image caption - Frontispiece and title page of A Book of Nursery Songs and Rhymes (1895) with border design by Georgie Gaskin