Birth of Mary Newill

(1860 - 1947)

Birth of Harriet Isabel Adams

(1863 - 1952)

Birth of Celia Levetus

(1874 - 1936)
Born in Montreal, Canada.

The Adventures of Philip, Volume I

William Makepeace Thackeray

The Adventures of Philip, Volume I

(Smith, Elder & Co., 1884)

This book belonged to John Nettlefold of Winterbourne, and carries the bookplate designed for him by Celia Levetus.  John’s wife Margaret attended classes at the Birmingham School of Art in the 1890s and may have met Levetus there.

Apple Pie

Kate Greenaway

Apple Pie

(George Routledge & Sons, mid-1880s)

Kate Greenaway(1846-1901) was a prolific writer and illustrator of children’s books, and her style inspired many of the Birmingham School artists.  Greenaway studied at the Royal Female School of Art and the Slade School of Fine Art.

The Regency-style dresses depicted by Greenaway influenced Arts and Crafts fashion for middle-class children in the late 19^th century.

Arts and Crafts Exhibition - 1889

Featuring lectures by:
-William Morris
-Henry Holiday
-Walter Crane

Featuring Work by:
-William Morris
-E. Burne-Jones
-W. Holman Hunt

https://archive.org/details/ACESExhib02AAD19801798

A Book of Pictured Carols

Designed under the direction of Arthur J. Gaskin (George Allen, 1893)

A Book of Pictured Carols

Arthur Gaskin was an instructor at the Birmingham School, and this volume was produced by his students. The title page border was designed by Georgie Cave (later Georgie Gaskin) and cut in wood by Mildred Peacock. ‘Salvator Mundi’ was by another Birmingham School student, Florence Rutland. A letter from Gaskin to John Thackray Bunce—editor of the Birmingham Daily Post and father of artists Kate and Myra Bunce—is tipped into the copy.

The Quest

The Quest, Volumes I-II

(Cornish Brothers, 1894-96)

As the official magazine of the Birmingham School of Art, ‘The Quest’ (1894-96) prominently featured the work of instructors and former students.  The headpiece for ‘The Art of Prose’, designed by Celia Levetus, is far more charming than the turgid prose of the article.

William Morris' Lecture to Graduates of the Birmingham Municipal School of Art

A lecture given to graduates of the Birmingham School.

Fairbrass: A Children's Story

T. Edgar Pemberton, illustrated by Kate E. Bunce

Fairbrass: A Children’s Story

(Cornish Brothers, 1895)

Painter and illustrator Kate Elizabeth Bunce (1856-1927) was trained, along with her sister Myra, at the Birmingham School of Art.  Her father John Thackray Bunce was an early supporter of the school and of the municipal museum (now the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery).  The working proof shows Bunce’s sketch for the illustrated initial, visible in its final state in the published volume.

Arts and Crafts Exhibition - 1896

Featuring Lectures by:
-W. R. Lethaby
-Walter Crane
-Reginald Blomfield
-Halsey Ricardo

Featuring Work by:
-E. Burne-Jones
-Walter Crane
-Arthur Gaskin
-Henry Holiday

https://archive.org/details/ACESExhib05AAD1980182

Of the Decorative Illustration of Books Old and New

Walter Crane

Of the Decorative Illustration of Books Old and New

(George Bell and Sons, 1896)

Walter Crane was a renowned artist and illustrator, who lectured at the Birmingham school and championed the work of its students.  Here, Crane praises Mary Newill’s works for their ‘ornamental rendering of natural landscapes’, perfectly demonstrated in her idyllic pen and ink drawing of the Somerset village of Porlock.

Mary Newill (1860–1947), who also designed textiles, studied and later taught at the Birmingham School.

The Nightingale

Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Mary J. Newill

The Nightingale

(Napier, 1896)

Mary Newill presents an exotic interpretation of Andersen’s tale of the Chinese Emperor and his court, which reflects Victorian stereotypes of China.  She fuses Pre-Raphaelite traditions, such as flatness and detailed depiction of natural scenery, with a folk-art style typical of the Arts and Crafts movement.

History of the Horn-Book, Volume II

Andrew White Tuer

History of the Horn-Book, Volume II

(Leadenhall Press, 1897)

This richly illustrated volume contains a space for storing ‘horn books’.  These educational tools had been used to teach reading from mediaeval times. The striking purple ‘battledore’ horn book, embossed in gold on its highly-coloured back, features a comical poem bordering the main content. The illustrators include Birmingham School artists Georgie Cave France (later Gaskin), C. M. Gere and Celia Levetus, whose image ‘Taskmistress’ won an award.

Sybil

Poem by Edward Levetus, illustrated by Celia Levetus

Sybil

Verse and illustration, two of the foremost interests of the Pre-Raphaelites, are brought together in the work of brother and sister Celia and Edward Levetus. The siblings combine their respective talents as poet and artist, and the result is more than the sum of its parts.

Songs of Innocence

William Blake, with designs by Celia Levetus (Wells, Gardner, Darton & Co., 1899)

Songs of Innocence

The ‘Songs of Innocence’ were first published in 1789, with Blake’s own dark and sinister etchings.  In this tiny edition, Celia Levetus provides a new, and gentler, set of illustrations.  Blake’s nineteen original poems are spread over 118 mini-pages.

Celia Levetus (1874-1936) attended the Birmingham School of Art in the 1890s and rapidly gained a reputation as one of its most prolific artists. 

Songs of Experience

William Blake, with designs by Celia Levetus

Songs of Experience

(Nutt, 1902)

In contrast to her work in Blake’s ‘Songs of Innocence’, here Levetus introduces a more unsettling and menacing undertone, echoing the uneasiness in the poems (first published in 1794).  Bare, spindly branches wrap around the image, creating a claustrophobic atmosphere.  The snake, a symbol of Satan, looms threateningly on the left, while the winged woman to the right seems to be protecting the two frightened children at her feet.

Wild flowers of the British Islands, Volume 1

Written and illustrated by H. Isabel Adams

Wild flowers of the British Islands, Volume I

(Heinemann, 1907-10)

This book reminds us of the role women played in the sciences during the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.  In contrast to the preference for black and white among Birmingham School artists, Isabel Adams uses colour.  Employing her keen powers of observation and attention to detail, she creates highly realistic images of plant anatomy for her audience.