Clara Elsene Peck ~ The Adventures of Melissa ~ 1908

These beautiful illustrations appeared 

in the November 28, 1908 Collier's Weekly monthly fiction issue.

I've worked with the images, and their value added content is copyrighted. 

They may be copied for educational purposes only, 

with a source link to this article at Art of Narrative.

Clara Elsene Peck

Heading
The Adventures of Melissa ~ 1908
A Short Story by Rudyard Kipling

Clover to an over-tired bee 

is as soothing as plain knitting...

Published in Collier's Weekly

Clara Elsene Peck

The Adventures of Melissa ~ 1908
A Short Story by Rudyard Kipling

Clover to an over-tired bee 
is as soothing as plain knitting...

Published in Collier's Weekly

Clara Elsene Peck

The Adventures of Melissa ~ 1908
A Short Story by Rudyard Kipling

These things are written 
in the Book of Queens,
which is laid up in the hollow of 
the Great Ash- Ydrasil

Published in Collier's Weekly

Clara Elsene Peck

Decoration

The Adventures of Melissa ~ 1908

A Short Story by Rudyard Kipling

Published in Collier's Weekly

Clara Elsene Peck

The Adventures of Melissa ~ 1908
A Short Story by Rudyard Kipling

The Day of the Light and the Smoke
and the Voice Behind the Veil

Published in Collier's Weekly

These illustrations may not be a perfect match to the reactionary, allegorical nature of Kipling's story, written as a response to his fear of socialism, noted at the time of its publication, but they are exciting in their composition and line, reminiscent of the accomplished work of Arthur Rackham.

You may think I see parallels to Arthur Rackham in every artist, but it is because I am drawn to detailed illustration, especially with wonderful surprise and energy, and convincing characterization. I love the little fairy faces (well, bees, but they look like fairies and gnomes to me). You may notice in the second illustration that a Rackham-like face appears, in fact two of them, peering over the open notebook.

You can learn more about Clare Elsene Peck (1883-1968) here and here. You can see more of her illustrations from 1905 and 1907 here. I love her work and though I had seen a bit of it before, including her typography, after recent research I have a greater appreciation, especially after by pure chance discovering the illustrations presented here which are not widely known.

Kipling's story and Peck's raw images from the November 28, 1908 issue of Collier's are in the public domain. The first page of the short story, The Adventures of Melissa, is copied below from the Internet Archive. Click into the link if you'd like to see more.

Enjoy!


Text and Value Added Images © 2015 Art of Narrative

Margaret Rice Oxley ~ Artist & Illustrator ~ 20th Century

Margaret Rice Oxley

Margaret Rice Oxley

The Children Dream of Seafaring

Margaret Rice Oxley often signed her art and illustrations as M Rice Oxley. Little is known about her, even by the auction houses that have listed and sold her work. Other than auction listings, I can find no reference to her as an illustrator in the Library of Congress extensive catalog of books, on the Internet Archive, or in general searches on the internet.

I found one sentence of biographical information from an auction house called Dominic Winter: "The fine watercolourist Margaret Rice Oxley is little known, although we understand that she lived at Lyth Hill, near Shrewsbury, and that she was probably born in the second decade of the 20th century."

Margaret Rice Oxley worked in watercolor and pen and ink. From the type of work represented by the auction houses, she may have illustrated for books or magazines, but I can find no records to this effect. Is it possible she was a highly accomplished hobbyist who remained unpublished?

I'm sharing at Art of Narrative most of the handful of images I've found at their highest resolution, slightly enhanced for color and clarity. I've seen the same watercolor paintings and pen and ink illustrations in different sizes, tones and colors, depending on which auction house or secondary site posted the images, so I do not know how accurate the colors and contrast may be, but I think you will agree that she is an artist deserving discovery and wide recognition.

Click into each image to see the highest resolution.

Margaret Rice Oxley

Apotheosis of Columbine

Margaret Rice Oxley

The Dandelion Fairy

Margaret Rice Oxley

The Garden of Dreams

Margaret Rice Oxley

The Winds Fly Fast to Their Home

Margaret Rice Oxley

The End of the Story

Margaret Rice Oxley

Moonlit Scene

Margaret Rice Oxley

The Shepherdess

Margaret Rice Oxley

Poem: The Dream Shop

Margaret Rice Oxley

Poem: The Garden of Dreams

Margaret Rice Oxley

When You Do Dance
I Wish You A Wave O' The Sea

~ Quote from Shakespeare

If anyone reading this tribute knows more about Margaret Rice Oxley, please add your knowledge in the comments. (Both an author of a medical text, and the mother of a well known singer share her name, but she is neither of these women.)




Text & Value Added Images © 2014 Art of Narrative

Anne Anderson ~ Stories from Chaucer ~ 1913

Anne Anderson
Cover Illustration for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

Anne Anderson
Title Page for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

Anne Anderson
Frontispiece for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

In attendance on the Knight was his son.

Anne Anderson
Illustration for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

Emily could be seen below.

Anne Anderson
Illustration for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

At once the fight began.

Anne Anderson
Illustration for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

The Man of Law was a discreet person.

Anne Anderson
Illustration for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

The bride entered the city.

Anne Anderson
Illustration for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

Once more she was adrift.

Anne Anderson
Illustration for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

Griselda was entirely reclothed.

Anne Anderson
Illustration for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

"What think you of my new wife's beauty?"

In another early volume of Anne Anderson's illustrations, the viewer is once more transported, this time into the world of three of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales as retold by Emily Underdown, who also wrote under the name Chester Norley.

Please see my companion post, Aucassin and Nicolete, for another of Anne Anderson's early published work, where you will also find a brief biography and additional links.

To see the illustrations in their original context and to read the stories, click HERE.

Text © 2014 Art of Narrative