Harry Clarke's illustrations and page decorations for The Year's at the Spring reverberate, from the playful to the frightening, with the reveries of childhood and religious iconography inherent in turn-of-the-century collections of poetry. The page layout and typography is delightful.
These illustrations come from the first edition published in September 1920 by Brentano's (New York). The Year's at the Spring: An Anthology of Recent Poetry was compiled by L. D'o. Walters (Lettice D'Oyly Walters), and printed in Great Britain by Turnbull & Spears, Edinburgh. Click the link to see the illustrations in their original context, at archive dot org.
For your enjoyment and study, I've included every one of Harry Clarke's full page illustrations and page decorations. The table of contents pages and list of illustrations are particularly beautiful, incorporating the decorations cropped for this post.
I first copied and worked with the images from this scanned version at archive dot org, where I found the dust jacket. I was unsatisfied with the quality of the images, because the original source material was yellowed and dull and the scans were in soft focus; so I was happy to recently find the better set of pages, which prompted me to start the project all over.
The images are in the order they appear in the book. Every named illustration is a full page, and the titles come from the list of illustrations. Page decorations range in size from small to a quarter page. Captions come from the text below each full page illustration. If you click on each image, you will be rewarded with exceptional detail.
My favorite color illustrations are A Ballad of the Captains, Arabia, The Song of the Mad Prince, and The Dead.
My favorite black and white illustrations and page decorations are numerous, including all of the front matter illustrations, The Fiddler of Dooney, Star-Talk, To The Coming Spring, and Very Nearly! I love the helmeted woman. She reminds me of the antique clothing buttons I collect.
See many more of Harry Clarke's illustrations at Will Schofield’s 50 Watts.
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Dust Jacket
Illustrated by Harry Clarke
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Front Matter ~ Title Illustration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Frontispiece
The Lake Isle of Innisfree
"And I shall have some peace there,
for peace comes dropping slow"
"And I shall have some peace there,
for peace comes dropping slow"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Title Page
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Title Page Illustration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Introduction Page Illustration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Front Matter ~ Untitled Illustration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Acknowledgment Page Illustration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Acknowledgment End Page Illustration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Contents Page Illustration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
List of Illustrations Illustration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
List of Illustrations End Page Illustration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
April
"April, April, laugh thy girlish laughter!"
"April, April, laugh thy girlish laughter!"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
The Fiddler of Dooney
"When we come at the end of time,
to Peter sitting in state"
"When we come at the end of time,
to Peter sitting in state"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Cradle-Song
"I bring for you, aglint with dew,
a little lovely dream"
"I bring for you, aglint with dew,
a little lovely dream"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
The Donkey
"With monstrous head and sickening cry
and ears like errant wings"
"With monstrous head and sickening cry
and ears like errant wings"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Sea Fever
"All I ask is a windy day
with the white clouds flying"
"All I ask is a windy day
with the white clouds flying"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
A Ballad of the Captains
"... drumming up the channel,
haling prizes in their wake"
"... drumming up the channel,
haling prizes in their wake"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
A Ballad of the Captains
"With a dead Hidalgo's daughter
as a dower for the dey"
as a dower for the dey"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Arabia
"Demi-silked dark-haired musicians"
"Demi-silked dark-haired musicians"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
The Song of the Mad Prince
"'All time's delight hath she for narrow bed'"
"'All time's delight hath she for narrow bed'"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
The Shepperdess
"She walks - the lady of my delight-
a shepperdess of sheep"
"She walks - the lady of my delight-
a shepperdess of sheep"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
The Dead
"Honour has come back, as a king, to earth"
"Honour has come back, as a king, to earth"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
The Great Lover
"Out on the wind of time,
shining and streaming"
"Out on the wind of time,
shining and streaming"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
The Great Lover
"Moist black earthen mould;...
and high places; footprints in the dew"
"Moist black earthen mould;...
and high places; footprints in the dew"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
If I Had a Broomstick
"If I had a broomstick"
"If I had a broomstick"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration ~ 2nd Use
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
The Dying Patriot
"And the dead robed in red and sea-lilies overhead
sway when the long winds blow"
"And the dead robed in red and sea-lilies overhead
sway when the long winds blow"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
The Dying Patriot
"I saw them march from Dover, long ago"
"I saw them march from Dover, long ago"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Star-Talk
"How is your trade, Aquarius, this frosty night?"
"How is your trade, Aquarius, this frosty night?"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Overheard on a Saltmarsh
"Give me your beads. I desire them. No."
"Give me your beads. I desire them. No."
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
To The Coming Spring
"With magic key... unlocking buds
that keep the roses"
"With magic key... unlocking buds
that keep the roses"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Alms in Autumn
"They'll set the realms of fairyland
all dancing with delight"
"They'll set the realms of fairyland
all dancing with delight"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Very Nearly!
"All alone, those rocks amid--
one night I very nearly did!"
"All alone, those rocks amid--
one night I very nearly did!"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
All is Spirit and Part of Me
"I am born of a thousand storms,
and grey with the rushing rains"
"I am born of a thousand storms,
and grey with the rushing rains"
The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Black and White
"Midst of all was a cold white face"
"Midst of all was a cold white face"
Spectacular. Wonderful. Classic.
ReplyDeleteYour clean-up work is lovingly done. It's a lot of work, isn't it? Time consuming, yet so worth the effort.
Thank you for the great results!
Hi Thom,
ReplyDeleteThank you! It took an incredible amount of time, including the titling and the captioning, and negotiating blogger's many quirks; but the end result is all worth it, isn't it?
So wonderful! I love these!! The line is so intricate/delicate in them....so glad you've shown them here.
ReplyDeletethank you, good work.
ReplyDeletefantastic! appreciate all your efforts.
ReplyDeleteMuchas gracias! Encantadoras, gracias. Y
ReplyDelete