Walter Crane
(1845 - 1915)
Walter Crane was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most prolific and influential children’s book creator of his generation.
Along with Randolph Caldecott and Kate Greenaway, his is considered one of the strongest contributors to the child’s nursery motif that the genre of English children’s illustrated literature would exhibit in its developmental stages in the latter 19th century.
His work featured some of the more colourful and detailed beginnings of the child-in-the-garden motifs that would characterize many nursery rhymes and children’s stories for decades to come.
He was part of the Arts and Crafts movement and produced an array of paintings, illustrations, children’s books, ceramic tiles and other decorative arts.
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The Baby's Bouquet (1878)
Bibliography
Aladdin: or The Wonderful Lamp (1875)
New lamps for old! and a most obliging genie. Read for free online at Internet Archive and at the University of Florida.
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1873)
A boy is cutting firewood in the forest. He overhears some thieves open the way into a cave with the words “open sesame.” This is one of the best-known tales from the Arabian Nights. Read for free online at Internet Archive and at the University of Florida.
Annie and Jack in London (1869)
An illustrated tour of London in the 1860’s. Read for free online at the University of Florida.
An Artist’s Reminiscences (1907)
An autobiography of the prolific Victorian artist and socialist. Read for free online at Internet Archive.
Baby’s Own Alphabet (1875)
An illustrated ABC. Read for free online at Internet Archive. This is a collection of several of Walter Crane’s Toy Books.
Beatrice Crane: Her Book: The 2nd June 1st 1879 (1983)
A collection of pictures for the artist’s daughter.
Beauty and the Beast (1874)
The classic tale of a daughter who redeems her father and saves her husband. Read for free online at Internet Archive.
Beauty and the Beast and Other Tales (1982)
A reprinting of Beauty and the Beast, Princess Belle Etoile and The Yellow Dwarf.
Beauty and the Beast Picture Book (1901)
This is an omnibus volume containing Beauty and the Beast, The Frog Prince and The Hind in the Wood. Read for free online at Internet Archive.
Bluebeard (1875)
The famous spine chilling story of a wife who was too curious - ‘Sister Anne, Sister Anne!’ Read for free online at Internet Archive.
A Book of Christmas Verse (1895)
An anthology that begins with St. Ambrose. Read for free online at the University of Florida.
Various
Bric-a-Brac Stories (1885)
Twenty-four stories with pictures. Read for free online at Google Books.
“Carrots”: Just a Little Boy (1876)
The story of a family of children, and especially Carrots and Floss. Read for free online at HathiTrust.
Chattering Jack (1867)
A nursery tale from Walter Crane. Read for free online at the Toronto Public Library. NOTE: that link downloads a very large file.
Chattering Jack’s Picture Book (1876)
An omnibus containing Chattering Jack, How Jessie Was Lost, Grammar in Rhyme, and Annie and Jack in London. Read for free online at the Toronto Public Library.
A Christmas Child (1880)
The story of a young boy whose life is cut short too soon. It is based on the life of Thomas Grindal Hutton, who died at age thirteen in 1875. Read for free online at Internet Archive.
A Christmas Posy (1888)
Eight short stories. Read for free online at Project Gutenberg.
Christmas-Tree Land (1884)
Rollo and Maia go to stay with an elderly cousin at an ancient castle in Thuringia. Read for free online at Internet Archive.
Cinderella (1873)
A neglected stepdaughter, a fairy godmother and a prince. Read for free online at the University of Florida.
Cinderella Picture Book (1897)
An omnibus containing Cinderella, Puss in Boots and Valentine and Orson. Read for free online at Internet Archive.