Blog Post #6: ENG 910 - A Division of Economic and Social Status

With each passing class, I am amazed by the sheer amount of detail and social commentary evident in these Victorian illustrations, revealing how instrumental they were for depicting the social issues of the time period. In today’s class, I was able to examine that quite clearly with Zeinab’s analysis of the beggar illustration within “The Man with the Twisted Lip”. Not only did it address the very Victorian value of classism, but also our lack of development in contemporary Western society.

Module 6

Sidney Paget does something interesting when it comes to illustrating Sherlock Holmes; and that is, he almost contrasts the words being said. He does this in a way where the text and image relate and make sense and aren't contradictory. But, since he had creative freedom, we see where Paget brought in his own creative liberty and how he saw the characters and scenes he was illustrating for. When it came to the images discussed in presentations today, it is very clear that many if not all these images touched upon fin-de-siècle ideologies and prejudices held at that time.

Dover Publications - 31 2nd St, Mineola, NY 11501, United States

Dover Publications published the version of Goblin Market that included the illustrations by Laurence Housman. Important to note because the creation of this edition happened halfway across the world, in the United Kingdom. Laurence Housman was born in Worcestershire and his work has made it across the world to be studied and appreciated by so many. Dover Publications is still Located in Mineola, New York.