COVE

The Little Grey Lady  (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1893)

illustrated by Georgie Gaskin

Georgie Gaskin (1866 –1934) primarily worked on jewellery during the 1880s, so it was unusual for her to be making illustrations at this time.  The opportunities offered by the growth in fine art printing were grasped by both male and female artists, disseminating their work to an ever-growing audience.

Gaskin’s illustration of ‘A Spring Riddle’ is beautifully drawn with many natural images. The stems of the snowdrops create patterns reminiscent of Celtic knots as they weave around the poem. The front cover features the daffodil, the national flower of Wales, and another traditional Celtic motif. Gaskin’s charming illustration picks out important motifs from the poem. The snowdrops allude to the ultimate answer to the riddle, and the baby animals are specifically mentioned:  ‘[...] the goslins / the ducklets & chicks / And teach the dear lambs [...].

By Abbey Roderick  

Image courtesy of the Cadbury Research Library, University of Birmingham