Two-page open spread from "The Twelve Dancing Princesses and Other Fairy Tales" (1923) retold by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch and illustrated by Kay Nielsen. There is type on the left page reading "'I have had such a terrible dream,'she declared. '...a pretty bird swooped down, snatched it from my hands and flew away with it.'" The illustration on the right page shows a woman in an elaborate gown and hairdo watching as a pink bird flies away with a bouquet in its beak.
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John M. Olin Library, Level 1, Thomas Gallery

Media for the Masses: Popular Print from 1850-1950

Media for the Masses examines the evolution of illustration and how the relationship between word and image led to increasing demand for popular print. The evolution of popular print is demonstrated in this exhibition through a century of printed matter alongside original works of art created for the purpose of printed illustrations. The emergence of notable authors and artists, along with advances in printing technology, played major roles in capturing public interest.

Ink on paper drawing of a woman standing with lamp and book with "The Centvry a monhly illvstrated magazine midwinter number February 1882" included on the cover.
The Century Magazine original cover illustration by Elihu Vedder, 1882.
An illustration of a woman in a shift dress with her hat falling off being gripped and lifted by a man in a suit. The illustration is alongside an article on page 23 of the Ladies' Home Journal titled "If Love I Must."
Ladies’ Home Journal tear sheet featuring illustration by Al Parker, 1939.

Largely found in the form of books and periodicals, the exhibition’s prolific visuals showcase developments in printing technologies, changes in illustration styles, and the ways in which the combination of word and image answered a demand for entertaining content.

The exhibition includes items from the Rare Book Collections and the Dowd Illustration Research Archive, as well as pieces on loan from the Korshak Collection.

Media for the Masses was organized by Andrea Degener, Dowd Illustration Research Archive curator; Douglas B. Dowd, Dowd Illustration Research Archive faculty director; and Cassie Brand, Rare Books curator.

Header Image Credit: The twelve dancing princesses and other fairy tales, retold by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch and illustrated by Kay Nielsen, 1923. All pieces featured are from the Dowd Illustration Research Archive collections.