Obviously this method must be confined to such books whose plot is laid in comparatively recent times and in ordinary scenes of life; for the difficulties, which are in any case great, assume insurmountable proportions when one conceives the idea of illustrating by photograms such books as "Robinson Crusoe," "Pilgrim's Progress," or "Don Quixote."
PEN DRAWING BY W.T. WHITEHEAD.
(Original 8 x 5.)
The ideal condition would be for the author to illustrate his own writings, then indeed should we be sure of getting a glimpse of the character intended; and we can imagine with what care he would fashion the child of his imagination.
Failing this, the author should control to a greater extent the work of the man who is to illustrate his writings, a point far too often overlooked in the making of a book.
It will be seen that in this section of illustration the draughtsman draws upon his imagination, so that, to some extent at least, his art is creative. It must, however, be borne in mind that he is not at liberty to paint or draw his own unaided imaginings; he is merely interpreting another's words into a graphic representation; so that, be he never so fine an artist, his art, like Pegasus in harness, is restrained under the yoke of the illustrator.
We may, however, find illustration ascending a step higher towards the sphere of art proper and creative, and that is in the edition de luxe, in which, with or without printed matter, we have plates which are pictures in the best sense, and appeal chiefly, or exclusively, to the æsthetic sense. Also in some dramatic works, in poetry, and in some prose, there is a much wider scope for the imagination of the artist, and we have high-class books of a real artistic merit.
PEN DRAWING BY W.T. WHITEHEAD.