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Land Of Enchantment: British Fantasy Illustration In The Golden Age, Kimberly C. Weatherford

Watkinson Publications

Guide for exhibition held by Watkinson Library, 1997.

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Britain saw a proliferation of sumptuously illustrated books, incorporating fantasy in its many facets. The times were right, with the social and political climate favorable to fantastic and visionary literature and art. An expanding British empire was sparking fascination with the non-Western world, giving rise to illustrations of exotic, far-away lands. At the same time, increasing interest in revivalism (Gothic, Medieval, and Renaissance), exotism, and spiritualism found a natural outlet in fantastic themes. Fantasy was a form of escapism from an increasingly industrialized lifestyle …