BY A WOMANS HAND

At the turn of the twentieth century, the demand for magazine and book illustrations was at an all-time high, offering women artists an unprecedented number of professional opportunities. This unique anthology features 120 color and black-and-white artworks by the Golden Age of Illustration's finest female illustrators, including Beatrix Potter, Kate Greenaway, and Jessie Willcox Smith.
A career in illustration represented an ideal opportunity for women in post-Victorian society. Every well-bred girl was schooled in the arts of sketching and drawing, and by working at home, a woman's modesty could remain uncompromised. Successful competition in a world dominated by male artists, however, called for determination as well as talent. This compilation celebrates the accomplishments of twenty-two female illustrators, including Elenore Abbott, Mabel Lucie Attwell, Elizabeth Shippen Green, Ruth Mary Hallock, Jessie Marion King, Dorothy Lathrop, Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, Margaret Winifred Tarrant, and others.

Mary Carolyn Waldrep was formerly an editor at Dover Publications, specializing in books on needlework, crafts, fashion, and electronic clip art. Since November 2004 she has served as Dover's Editor-in-Chief.