Walter Crane: Baby’s Bouquet

George Routledge & Sons published this children’s book by Walter Crane (1845–1915), without a date, as the second volume in a three-part series of so-called toy books (The Baby’s Opera, The Baby’s Bouquet, The Baby’s Own Aesop). It was first released in 1878. The woodcuts were made for all three volumes by Edmund Evans, while the children’s songs were selected by the artist’s sister, Lucy Crane.
The small, rectangular format of the book, which fits in a child’s hand, is a fitting manifestation of Crane’s vision of book art. Content and illustrations are in perfect harmony, from the cover to the smallest decorations, and the inspired figural illustrations are close to the world of young children. On the full-page image of the frontispiece, the allegorical figure of a fairy hands the child the titular bouquet of songs. The fairy holds a book under her arm, and there is one in the hand of the child as well. As elsewhere in the book, there are plenty of charming, humorous details to offer the reader the pleasure of discovery, while the larger figures embody the Pre-Raphaelite ideal of beauty. Crane’s signature, the namesake bird, can be found in the lower left corner.