Frederic Leighton Romola drawings to illustrate the novel by George Eliot
Overview
Drawings by English artist Baron Frederic Leighton to illustrate the novel Romola by George Eliot.
Dates
- Creation: 1860
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.
Extent
.4 linear feet (30 drawings)30 drawings in black and white chalk on blue-gray wove paper; 19 x 13 cm. and smaller. 10 drawings are initial vignettes. 20 are full-page illustrations.
Biographical / Historical
Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton (1830-1896) was an English painter and sculptor. The illustrations that form this collection were commissioned by George Smith in 1860 and first appeared in Cornhill Magazine (1862-1863), and later were published in the Smith Elder 1880 edition of the novel.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
No accession number. Bequest of Francis L. Hofer; received: 1978.
Bibliography
As noted in David Becker's catalog, the details of costume and expression are absent from these final drawings and were added later on the blocks.
- David P. Becker. Drawings for Book Illustration: The Hofer Collection. [Cambridge, Mass.]: Dept. of Printing and Graphic Arts, Houghton Library, Harvard University, 1980.
Processing Information
Processed by: Irina Tarsis
The descriptions below include the following information:
- 1. Identification of the drawings in Cornhill Magazine.
- 2. Notation was made when manuscript drawing varied from printed version.
- 3. The "Smith, Elder 1880" notation refers to publication of the drawing in the novel: George Eliot. Romola. London: Smith, Elder, 1880.
- Title
- Leighton of Stretton, Frederic Leighton, Baron, 1830-1896. Frederic Leighton Romola drawings to illustrate the novel by George Eliot, circa 1860: Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou01920
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.
Harvard Yard
Harvard University
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2440
Houghton_Library@harvard.edu