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John M. Olin Library, Julian Edison Department of Special Collections Reading Room

Fairytales were a popular subject for books during the Golden Age of Illustration and continue to be so today. The emergence of the children’s book as its own genre resulted in fairytales that have been drawn and redrawn by many of the great illustrators of the 19th and 20th centuries. 

From powerful knights and beautiful damsels to innocent children and grotesque creatures, fairytales are rife with characters and icons who have taken on lives of their own in books through the centuries. Showcased in the Powder, Crinoline, Beasts, Gremlins exhibition are several examples of fairytale illustrations from the Rare Books Collections and Dowd Modern Graphic History Library, which explore how many great illustrators approached their takes on stories told over and over again.

This exhibition was organized by Master of Fine Arts in Illustration and Visual Culture Candidate Tori Forster for Washington University Libraries.