Laurence Housman
(Source: Wikipedia)
Background
Laurence Housman was an English illustrator who studied art at the Lambeth School of Art and the Royal College of Art. Aside from being an illustrator he was also a writer,
playwright and activist. Born in 1865,
he is known for his early wood block illustrations for both Christina Rossetti’s
Goblin Market, but also his own
collection of fairy tales and poems he self-illustrated. Below are scanned
images from the 1893 edition of Goblin
Market, published by Macmillan & Co.
Images
Prior to viewing these illustrations, understand that they were wooden blocks at first. Finely etched to create such stunning pieces. All the white space is essentially what was carved out and the black lines that you see, even those so faintly visible was wood left at the original level. These blocks were inked and then pressed on the pages.
Image 1
On the illustrated title page, Laurence Housman does a
wonderful job capturing multiple lines from the poem. Starting from the top of
the page you can see the goblins hiding amongst the brush of the trees, however
it is the middle that lines 55-59 are captured:
Down the glen tramp little men.
One hauls a basket,
One bears a plate,
One lugs a golden dish
Of many pounds weight.
One lugs a golden dish
Of many pounds weight.
While you cannot see if there is a golden dish, there you can
distinctly see three goblin men carrying baskets filled with fruits, while the
third from the left is displaying some on a plate.
On the bottom of that page you see two maidens, one who is
watching while the other is turned away. This is almost an exact representation
of lines 33-35:
Among the brookside rushes,
Laura bow'd her head to hear,
Lizzie veil'd her blushes:
Laura bow'd her head to hear,
Lizzie veil'd her blushes:
Image 2,3,4
Now in these three panels the poem only indirectly mentions
the orchards (lines 3, 135 and 304) in which they retrieve the fruits. Laurence
Housman took great lengths to showcase these goblins that exceed the poem’s
literary words, perhaps to portray these goblins as more human like. In the
right most panel we can see one goblin without clothing in which he appears
more animal-like than human. Yet, in the remaining panels all goblins are seen
wearing some sort of cloak and hat. Lines
71-76 describe the physical appearance of these goblins, which put them more as
animals than human:
One had a cat's face,
One whisk'd a tail,
One tramp'd at a rat's pace,
One crawl'd like a snail,
One like a wombat prowl'd obtuse and furry,
One like a ratel tumbled hurry skurry.
From this
description you can understand why Laurence chose to make the goblins animal
like in facial features and body shape, but they retain a human-like posture as
well as hands.
One whisk'd a tail,
One crawl'd like a snail,
One like a wombat prowl'd obtuse and furry,
Image 5 & 6
These two pages represent the original enticement of poor
Laura. You can see her peering from her side of the brook towards a group of
goblins in the leftmost pane, while the right showcases more goblins with one
clearly calling out. Again the goblin men have their baskets filled with fruit.
The left panel would be showing lines 69 and 70:
Curious Laura chose
to linger
Wondering at each merchant man.
So what I believe the right panel to showcase would be lines
2-4 or 90-93:
Maids heard the goblins cry:
"Come buy our orchard fruits,
Come buy, come buy:
OR
"Come buy, come
buy."
When they reach'd where Laura was
They stood stock still upon the moss,
Surely the goblin could be giving his whole speech, the main
point is that he is trying to entice her to get some fruit.
Image 7
For those of you that have
read the poem, you may think that this image is portraying Lizzie refusing to
take a fruit. However, I believe it to more so be Laura as it appears that she
is grabbing her own hair. The poem
states she exchanges some of her hair for access to the fruit, but that it was
somewhat tramuatizing for her as she cried after the fact. Another point is
that none of the goblins look angry and more so just watching her. So this may be portraying lines 123-127:
"You have much gold upon your head,"
They answer'd all together:
"Buy from us with a golden curl."
She clipp'd a precious golden lock,
She dropp'd a tear more rare than pearl,
None of the goblins seem to
be on top of her or really forcing. Sure there are some hands offering fruits
but she is rather untouched only gripping at her own. Leaving me to believe
that is Laura after her hair had been taken, not Lizzie refusing.
Once again Laurence chooses to focus primarily on the
goblins, as the goblins nearly take up half of the image. You get a sense of
hauling as the middle goblin’s arms that are cloaked seem to be revealing some
sort of muscular strain. Yet in the left upper corner appears to be one of the
maidens. As I did not have access to the book in person I am unsure where this
frame was in the book, but it appears like there are 3 arms, one holding back
another. The other blog had it later
than the other illustrations so if it was scanned in order it could possibly be
a frame for lines 242-245 and lines 259-263 :
Till Lizzie urged,
"O Laura, come;
I hear the fruit-call but I dare not
look:
You should not loiter longer at this brook:
Come with me home.
AND
Gone deaf and blind?
Her tree of life droop'd from the root:
She said not one word in her heart's sore ache;
But peering thro' the dimness, nought discerning,
Trudg'd home, her pitcher dripping all the way;
It does seems like the arm pulling her back could be Lizzie
urging her to go home, meanwhile the facial expression of Laura appears longing
but not happy. Had she been able to see these goblin men, I feel her expression
would be of ravenous joy and the illustration to portray her moving towards
them. Also it does look like she is carrying some sort of pitcher or basket in
her right hand.
Another great portrayal of these goblin men, clearly they
are trying to haul a girl in. They seem to be shouting due to the open mouths
or hand gestures. So for sure this relates to lines 302-306:
She night and morning
Caught the goblins' cry:
"Come buy our orchard fruits,
Come buy, come buy;"--
Beside the brook, along the glen,
However I am unsure about the middle one with his arm extended; perhaps
he is throwing a fruit? Or he is catching Lizzie’s coin. If that is the case
then this may be referring to lines 366 and 367:
Held out her apron,
Toss'd them her penny.
Now this illustration is most definitely Lizzie and not
Laura. Many would argue that the fact, that the facial expression may be one of
bliss and therefore Laura but look at the goblins. They are climbing her and
pulling on her hair. Their eyes are more
widely open suggesting possible anger. She herself is almost like a rag doll
with how limp her head seems. Her hands seem to be gripping at some branches to
perhaps give her support from the waves of goblins upon her. That face of bliss
may just be a face of defiance as she keeps her mouth sealed shut to protect
herself from having the fruits. The pain she is enduring should make her cry
out but she is strong and resilient. The lines this frame could be portraying
could be either 399-407 and or 424-431:
They trod and hustled
her,
Elbow'd and jostled her,
Claw'd with their nails,
Barking, mewing, hissing, mocking,
Tore her gown and soil'd her stocking,
Twitch'd her hair out by the roots,
Stamp'd upon her tender feet,
Held her hands and squeez'd their fruits
Against her mouth to make her eat.
AND OR
Though the goblins cuff'd and caught her,
Coax'd and fought her,
Bullied and besought her,
Scratch'd her, pinch'd her
black as ink,
Kick'd and knock'd her,
Maul'd and mock'd her,
Lizzie utter'd not a word;
Would not open lip from lip
These last two panels refer to lines 438-446:
Worn out by her
resistance,
Flung back her penny, kick'd their fruit
Along whichever road they took,
Not leaving root or stone or shoot;
Some writh'd into the ground,
Some div'd into the brook
With ring and ripple,
Some scudded on the gale without a sound,
Some vanish'd in the distance.
Notice how the clothing of the goblins and Lizzie have a
sort of swirling pattern as if a wind as caught them. Two goblins in the left
panel seem to be almost sucked up by the water or ground specifically lines
442-443 “Some writh'd into the ground, Some div'd into the brook” These goblins are disserting her and
leaving, their faces seem annoyed and or angry.
The left panel has a goblin either hanging from the tree or perhaps
flying out of there. The right panel is simply more goblins crawling out, or
walking away. Peering back, with fruits left on the floor knocked out of
baskets.
I believe Goblin
Market caught Laurence’s attention especially through the goblins. Out of
these twelve panels half of them were focused solely on the goblins, while the
other six still had goblins within them. He brought to life these animal-like
goblin men in a way that is visually appealing. I think he successfully
captured a sense of creepiness with their eyes but also just the illustration
style. It is black and grey with scratchy lines that give it a darker demeanor
than other illustrations for this piece.
It is the lack of color that takes away some of the whimsical and magical
properties of the poem and lends it more so to a warning tale.
Wondering at each merchant man.
Come buy, come buy:
When they reach'd where Laura was
They stood stock still upon the moss,
Image 7
For those of you that have
read the poem, you may think that this image is portraying Lizzie refusing to
take a fruit. However, I believe it to more so be Laura as it appears that she
is grabbing her own hair. The poem
states she exchanges some of her hair for access to the fruit, but that it was
somewhat tramuatizing for her as she cried after the fact. Another point is
that none of the goblins look angry and more so just watching her. So this may be portraying lines 123-127:
"You have much gold upon your head,"
They answer'd all together:
They answer'd all together:
"Buy from us with a golden curl."
She clipp'd a precious golden lock,
She dropp'd a tear more rare than pearl,
She clipp'd a precious golden lock,
She dropp'd a tear more rare than pearl,
None of the goblins seem to
be on top of her or really forcing. Sure there are some hands offering fruits
but she is rather untouched only gripping at her own. Leaving me to believe
that is Laura after her hair had been taken, not Lizzie refusing.
Once again Laurence chooses to focus primarily on the
goblins, as the goblins nearly take up half of the image. You get a sense of
hauling as the middle goblin’s arms that are cloaked seem to be revealing some
sort of muscular strain. Yet in the left upper corner appears to be one of the
maidens. As I did not have access to the book in person I am unsure where this
frame was in the book, but it appears like there are 3 arms, one holding back
another. The other blog had it later
than the other illustrations so if it was scanned in order it could possibly be
a frame for lines 242-245 and lines 259-263 :
Till Lizzie urged,
"O Laura, come;
I hear the fruit-call but I dare not look:
You should not loiter longer at this brook:
Come with me home.
I hear the fruit-call but I dare not look:
You should not loiter longer at this brook:
Come with me home.
AND
Gone deaf and blind?
Her tree of life droop'd from the root:
She said not one word in her heart's sore ache;
But peering thro' the dimness, nought discerning,
Trudg'd home, her pitcher dripping all the way;
Her tree of life droop'd from the root:
She said not one word in her heart's sore ache;
But peering thro' the dimness, nought discerning,
Trudg'd home, her pitcher dripping all the way;
It does seems like the arm pulling her back could be Lizzie
urging her to go home, meanwhile the facial expression of Laura appears longing
but not happy. Had she been able to see these goblin men, I feel her expression
would be of ravenous joy and the illustration to portray her moving towards
them. Also it does look like she is carrying some sort of pitcher or basket in
her right hand.
Another great portrayal of these goblin men, clearly they
are trying to haul a girl in. They seem to be shouting due to the open mouths
or hand gestures. So for sure this relates to lines 302-306:
She night and morning
Caught the goblins' cry:
Caught the goblins' cry:
"Come buy our orchard fruits,
Come buy, come buy;"--
Beside the brook, along the glen,
Come buy, come buy;"--
Beside the brook, along the glen,
However I am unsure about the middle one with his arm extended; perhaps
he is throwing a fruit? Or he is catching Lizzie’s coin. If that is the case
then this may be referring to lines 366 and 367:
Held out her apron,
Toss'd them her penny.
Toss'd them her penny.
Now this illustration is most definitely Lizzie and not
Laura. Many would argue that the fact, that the facial expression may be one of
bliss and therefore Laura but look at the goblins. They are climbing her and
pulling on her hair. Their eyes are more
widely open suggesting possible anger. She herself is almost like a rag doll
with how limp her head seems. Her hands seem to be gripping at some branches to
perhaps give her support from the waves of goblins upon her. That face of bliss
may just be a face of defiance as she keeps her mouth sealed shut to protect
herself from having the fruits. The pain she is enduring should make her cry
out but she is strong and resilient. The lines this frame could be portraying
could be either 399-407 and or 424-431:
They trod and hustled
her,
Elbow'd and jostled her,
Claw'd with their nails,
Barking, mewing, hissing, mocking,
Tore her gown and soil'd her stocking,
Twitch'd her hair out by the roots,
Stamp'd upon her tender feet,
Held her hands and squeez'd their fruits
Against her mouth to make her eat.
Elbow'd and jostled her,
Claw'd with their nails,
Barking, mewing, hissing, mocking,
Tore her gown and soil'd her stocking,
Twitch'd her hair out by the roots,
Stamp'd upon her tender feet,
Held her hands and squeez'd their fruits
Against her mouth to make her eat.
AND OR
Though the goblins cuff'd and caught her,
Coax'd and fought her,
Bullied and besought her,
Scratch'd her, pinch'd her black as ink,
Kick'd and knock'd her,
Maul'd and mock'd her,
Lizzie utter'd not a word;
Would not open lip from lip
Coax'd and fought her,
Bullied and besought her,
Scratch'd her, pinch'd her black as ink,
Kick'd and knock'd her,
Maul'd and mock'd her,
Lizzie utter'd not a word;
Would not open lip from lip
These last two panels refer to lines 438-446:
Worn out by her
resistance,
Flung back her penny, kick'd their fruit
Along whichever road they took,
Not leaving root or stone or shoot;
Some writh'd into the ground,
Some div'd into the brook
With ring and ripple,
Some scudded on the gale without a sound,
Some vanish'd in the distance.
Flung back her penny, kick'd their fruit
Along whichever road they took,
Not leaving root or stone or shoot;
Some writh'd into the ground,
Some div'd into the brook
With ring and ripple,
Some scudded on the gale without a sound,
Some vanish'd in the distance.
Notice how the clothing of the goblins and Lizzie have a
sort of swirling pattern as if a wind as caught them. Two goblins in the left
panel seem to be almost sucked up by the water or ground specifically lines
442-443 “Some writh'd into the ground, Some div'd into the brook” These goblins are disserting her and
leaving, their faces seem annoyed and or angry.
The left panel has a goblin either hanging from the tree or perhaps
flying out of there. The right panel is simply more goblins crawling out, or
walking away. Peering back, with fruits left on the floor knocked out of
baskets.
I believe Goblin
Market caught Laurence’s attention especially through the goblins. Out of
these twelve panels half of them were focused solely on the goblins, while the
other six still had goblins within them. He brought to life these animal-like
goblin men in a way that is visually appealing. I think he successfully
captured a sense of creepiness with their eyes but also just the illustration
style. It is black and grey with scratchy lines that give it a darker demeanor
than other illustrations for this piece.
It is the lack of color that takes away some of the whimsical and magical
properties of the poem and lends it more so to a warning tale.
