Keepsake Illustrations
Art, not just in written form, but also in illustrated form, helped define The Keepsake. On the one hand, most critics claimed that the “illustrations were its finest feature,” while others “attacked the book’s artistic aesthetics for many of the same reasons they scorned its literary contents,” namely its “sentimental portraits of women and children, romantic escapades, rural vistas, and exotic scenes from foreign lands.”[1] Those who appreciated the illustrations agreed that they contributed to the “elegance”[2] of The Keepsake. However, those who criticized both its literature and visual art pulled The Keepsake into a larger discussion by attacking it on the basis of aesthetic merit.
Regardless of whether or not we can call The Keepsake art great, this annual played a significant role in the new art appreciation movement, especially through its methods of production and through its involvement of women.[3] In regards to production, The Keepsake, along with other annuals, promoted the use of steel-plate engraving for book illustrations, which was patented in 1819.[4] Previously, book illustrations called for a copper-plate process, which was much more expensive and yielded a product that was not as lasting as the harder steel plates.[5] Thus, even though The Keepsake was certainly one of the more expensive Victorian journals, it still aided in propagating art to a much broader audience, including women. In fact, this annual was seemingly marketed specifically to women. When George Eliot's character, Plymdale (in Middlemarch), purchases a copy of the annual, he has the “feeling that he is giving the gift for a girl.”[6] Moreover, The Keepsake illustrators were highly influenced by the women readers of the time, which probably also enhanced its appeal to a female audience. In conclusion, this annual’s illustrations were vital to not only advancing illustration work during the Victorian era, but also to setting this annual apart from many others, distinguishing it as a household keepsake.
Submitted by: Strobelt, Brittany: Section 1, Fall 2013
Illustrations from the 1838 Keepsake
From "On the Picture of a Greek Maiden".
From "The Vampire Knight and His Cloud Steed".
From "The Vampire Knight and His Cloud Steed".
Notes
- ↑ Introduction to The Keepsake of 1829. (L.E.L.'s "Verses" and The Keepsake for 1829. Ed. Terence Hoagwood and Kathryn Ledbetter. Romantic Circles, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.)
- ↑ WD
- ↑ Introduction to The Keepsake of 1829 (L.E.L.'s "Verses" and The Keepsake for 1829. Ed. Terence Hoagwood and Kathryn Ledbetter. Romantic Circles, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.)
- ↑ Introduction to The Keepsake of 1829 (L.E.L.'s "Verses" and The Keepsake for 1829. Ed. Terence Hoagwood and Kathryn Ledbetter. Romantic Circles, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.)
- ↑ Introduction to The Keepsake of 1829 (L.E.L.'s "Verses" and The Keepsake for 1829. Ed. Terence Hoagwood and Kathryn Ledbetter. Romantic Circles, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.)
- ↑ Introduction to The Keepsake of 1829 (L.E.L.'s "Verses" and The Keepsake for 1829. Ed. Terence Hoagwood and Kathryn Ledbetter. Romantic Circles, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.)
