The Portrait and the Book : Illustration and Literary Culture in Early America
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| Title: | The Portrait and the Book : Illustration and Literary Culture in Early America |
|---|---|
| Description: | In the nineteenth century, new image-making methods like steel engraving and lithography caused a surge in the publication of illustrated books in the United States. Yet even before the widespread use of these technologies, Americans had already established the illustrated book format as central to the nation's literary culture. In The Portrait and the Book, Megan Walsh argues that colonial-era author portraits, such as Benjamin Franklin's and Phillis Wheatley's frontispieces; political portraits that circulated during the debates over the Constitution, such as those of the Founders by Charles Willson Peale; and portraits of beloved fictional characters in the 1790s, such as those of Samuel Richardson's heroine Pamela, shaped readers'conceptions of American literature. Illustrations played a key role in American literary culture despite the fact there was little demand for books by American writers. Indeed, most of the illustrated books bought, sold, and shared by Americans were either imported British works or reprinted versions of those imported editions. As a result, in addition to embellishing books, illustrations provided readers with crucial information about the country's status as a former colony. Through an examination of readers'portrait-collecting habits, writers'employment of ekphrasis, printers'efforts to secure American-made illustrations for periodicals, and engravers'reproductions of British book illustrations, Walsh uncovers in late eighteenth-century America a dynamic but forgotten visual culture that was inextricably tied to the printing industry and to the early US literary imagination. |
| Authors: | Megan Walsh |
| Resource Type: | eBook. |
| Subjects: | Printing--United States--History--17th century, Printing--United States--History--18th century, Illustrated books--History--17th century, Illustrated books--History--18th century, Portraits, Colonial |
| Categories: | LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / General, LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Publishers & Publishing Industry |
| Database: | eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) |
| FullText | Links: – Type: ebook-pdf – Type: ebook-epub Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: nlebk DbLabel: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) An: 1499962 RelevancyScore: 1077 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: eBook PubTypeId: ebook PreciseRelevancyScore: 1077.00524902344 |
| IllustrationInfo | |
| ImageInfo | – Size: thumb Target: https://rps2images.ebscohost.com/rpsweb/othumb?id=NL$1499962$PDF&s=r – Size: medium Target: https://rps2images.ebscohost.com/rpsweb/othumb?id=NL$1499962$PDF&s=d |
| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: The Portrait and the Book : Illustration and Literary Culture in Early America – Name: Abstract Label: Description Group: Ab Data: In the nineteenth century, new image-making methods like steel engraving and lithography caused a surge in the publication of illustrated books in the United States. Yet even before the widespread use of these technologies, Americans had already established the illustrated book format as central to the nation's literary culture. In The Portrait and the Book, Megan Walsh argues that colonial-era author portraits, such as Benjamin Franklin's and Phillis Wheatley's frontispieces; political portraits that circulated during the debates over the Constitution, such as those of the Founders by Charles Willson Peale; and portraits of beloved fictional characters in the 1790s, such as those of Samuel Richardson's heroine Pamela, shaped readers'conceptions of American literature. Illustrations played a key role in American literary culture despite the fact there was little demand for books by American writers. Indeed, most of the illustrated books bought, sold, and shared by Americans were either imported British works or reprinted versions of those imported editions. As a result, in addition to embellishing books, illustrations provided readers with crucial information about the country's status as a former colony. Through an examination of readers'portrait-collecting habits, writers'employment of ekphrasis, printers'efforts to secure American-made illustrations for periodicals, and engravers'reproductions of British book illustrations, Walsh uncovers in late eighteenth-century America a dynamic but forgotten visual culture that was inextricably tied to the printing industry and to the early US literary imagination. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Megan+Walsh%22">Megan Walsh</searchLink> – Name: TypePub Label: Resource Type Group: TypPub Data: eBook. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Printing--United+States--History--17th+century%22">Printing--United States--History--17th century</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Printing--United+States--History--18th+century%22">Printing--United States--History--18th century</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Illustrated+books--History--17th+century%22">Illustrated books--History--17th century</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Illustrated+books--History--18th+century%22">Illustrated books--History--18th century</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Portraits%2C+Colonial%22">Portraits, Colonial</searchLink> – Name: SubjectBISAC Label: Categories Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22LANGUAGE+ARTS+%26+DISCIPLINES+%2F+General%22">LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / General</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22LANGUAGE+ARTS+%26+DISCIPLINES+%2F+Publishers+%26+Publishing+Industry%22">LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Publishers & Publishing Industry</searchLink> |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=nlebk&AN=1499962 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Classifications: – Code: 704.942 Scheme: ddc Type: prePub Languages: – Code: eng Text: English Subjects: – SubjectFull: Printing--United States--History--17th century Type: general – SubjectFull: Printing--United States--History--18th century Type: general – SubjectFull: Illustrated books--History--17th century Type: general – SubjectFull: Illustrated books--History--18th century Type: general – SubjectFull: Portraits, Colonial Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: The Portrait and the Book : Illustration and Literary Culture in Early America Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Megan Walsh – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Megan Walsh IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Type: published Y: 2017 – D: 15 M: 05 Type: profile Y: 2017 Identifiers: – Type: isbn-print Value: 9781609385026 – Type: isbn-electronic Value: 9781609385033 Titles: – TitleFull: The Portrait and the Book : Illustration and Literary Culture in Early America Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
