Framed Illustration by Jessie Willcox Smith  from Little Women (1924)

Someone, back in 1924, removed an illustration from a copy of Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women". Later ( based on the mat they used) it was professionally framed (nice floating hinged, double matting) and a nice frame with back cover. The frame however, when I acquired it was banged up and would be too bothersome for me to redo. I reframed it with a frame that was exactly the same color, I used the same wire from the original frame and put the same note on the back as it was on the original frame.

I was really taken with the artistry of this illustration, and the words beneath it: " The great drawing room was haunted by a tuneful spirit that came and went unseen"

Removing illustrations from books is not "good form" but the book may have been in bad condition. In any event what we have here is a wonderful piece of illustrative art.

The frame is a cherry wood color and is 12 x 14 inches, The cut out of the mat is 4 1/2 x 7 1/2".

This item would delight any fan of literature and would be a charming addition to a girl's room, piano room, school or library.

Here's some info about the illustrator, Wilcox:

 

 

 (September 6, 1863 – May 3, 1935) was one of the most prominent female illustrators in the United States during the Golden Age of American illustration. She was a prolific contributor to respected books and magazines during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She illustrated stories and articles for clients such as Century, Collier's, Leslie's Weekly, Harper's, McClure's, Scribners, and the Ladies' Home Journal. She had an ongoing relationship with Good Housekeeping, including the long-running Mother Goose series of illustrations and creating all the covers from 1915 to 1933. Among the more than 60 books that Smith illustrated were Louisa May Alcott's Little Women and An Old-Fashioned Girl, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Evangeline, and Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses.

Smith's style changed drastically through her life. In the beginning of her career she used dark lined borders to delineate brightly colored objects and people in a style described as "Japanesque". In later works she softened the lines and colors until they almost disappeared. Smith worked in mixed media: oil, watercolor, pastels, gouache, charcoal, whatever she felt gave her desired effect. She often overlaid oils on charcoal, on a paper whose grain or texture added an important element to the work. Her use of color was influenced by the French impressionist painters.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please Read These Notes:

Thanks so much for your understanding

New to this site? Wondering how to make an offer?

Once you’ve found the set of stuff you want/need/can’t live without, click the “Add To Cart” button on the item’s page, or drag the item into your shopping cart (located on the right side of the booth and item pages). When you’re done shopping, click “Checkout” on your cart to see the items you’ve added.

Once you have clicked “Checkout,” all items in your cart will be grouped by seller. Depending on what options the seller allows, you may be allowed to edit any of the following options:

•         Payment type (Google Checkout, money order, Paypal, or cash)

•         Shipping or pickup

•         Quantity of items

•         Total offer price

For any of the above options that can be edited, you can set their value by clicking on the “Edit” link next to the option. There are a variety of reasons you might not see edit links next to these options, which you can read about here.

When you’re done editing options, you click “Propose Offers” or “Buy Now” to continue with the process of buying the items.