Nostalgia, novelty and innovation: the illustration of Grimms’ tales in the UK in the twenty-first century

It was a stroke of genius that caused Charles Baldwyn, publisher of the first English translation of tales by the Grimm Brothers, to hire satirical cartoonist George Cruikshank as illustrator for the publication. Cruikshank’s expressive etchings so impressed the Grimms that they decided to publish their own illustrated “small edition” in Germany. Thus the first step was taken towards the international commodification of the tales as illustrated children’s and family classics. Late nineteenth-century UK editions of the Grimms’ tales showcased the work of numerous British artists, from the sumptuous detail of Walter Crane to the darkly romantic interpretations of Arthur Rackham. In the twenty-first century, publishers have sought to capitalise on Victorian traditions by reissuing classic illustrated Grimm collections, or by creating hybrid volumes of new and extant artwork. Alongside such gift-book editions, a spectrum of new interpretations extends from retellings of individual tales in novelty book form to the dramatic and disturbing canvases of fine artist Paula Rego. Two case studies – one of a 2012 anniversary edition of collected tales that uneasily combines the work of disparate artists, and the second of the cross-cultural travels of Philip Pullman’s retellings as envisaged through the radical imagination of Shaun Tan – illustrate both current global trends in children’s publishing and the inexhaustible visual allure of the Grimms’ tales.