Maidens, Monsters and Heroes

The Fantasy Illustrations of H. J. Ford

H. J. Ford, Jeff A. Menges

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9780486139791
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Artist Monographs

Henry Justice Ford is best known for his collaboration with Andrew Lang on a popular series of twelve `Color` fairy tale books published at the turn of the twentieth century. The artist and the folklorist also worked together on books with settings ranging from the Middle Ages through the eighteenth century, including The Red Book of Animal Stories and The Book of Saints and Heroes. Ford’s other works include The Book of Princes and Princesses, Old Testament Legends, The Book of the Happy Warrior, The Arabian Nights Entertainments, and Pilgrim’s Progress.
Editor and graphic artist Jeff A. Menges, who provides an informative commentary, assembled this dazzling gallery of Ford’s heroes, supernatural creatures, saints, and historic figures. Half of the compilation’s images appear here in the rare full-color formats of their original publication. Art lovers and book collectors alike will rejoice in this treasury of imaginative illustrations.

Part I: Early Line Work

In the original “Blue” book of Andrew Lang’s fairy series, the work done by H. J. Ford was competent and capable, but Ford had not yet defined a signature style. While the stories were fantastic and full of magic, Ford’s earliest illustrations were typical of the period. The artwork that Lang’s books required was daunting—the books averaged one hundred drawings per volume, and while the first two volumes featured two illustrators, Ford took on the remaining volumes alone. While not every image filled a full page, most did, and many were extremely complex. Horses, multiple figures, period and regional dress and armor—all became the necessary ingredients for the illustrations in the books that Lang produced. Ford became very good at assembling imagery that contained both the reference of real history and the wildest imaginings. By the fourth volume, the Yellow Fairy Book, Ford’s work had developed a character of its own—complex and defined—and his inking had become masterful. He developed an excellent sense of how values and textures could be used to move the viewer around the image.

The Three Grey Sisters

THE TERRIBLE HEAD

The Blue Fairy Book, 1889

The Gold-spinners

THE WATER LILY. THE GOLD SPINNERS

Prince Darling transformed into the Monster

PRINCE DARLING

“Yes, ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• INTRODUCTION
• Table of Contents
• Part I: Early Line Work
• Part II: The Addition of Color