Jennie Harbour – Illustrations from Fairytale Gems 1920

Jennie Harbour (1893–1959) was an English Art Deco artist and illustrator.

Harbour worked for The Raphael Tuck Publishing Company by 1919. It published illustrated postcards, calendars, and books. At first, she created illustrations like 18th-century paintings of gardens and flowers for calendars. International orders came into the company for her “delightfully distinctive, bright and pleasant” cards in 1919. Her prints were very successful and Raphael Tuck made an arrangement with Reinthal & Newman of New York to hand-print the works for the United States market.

In 1921, she illustrated My Favourite Book of Fairy Tales which had a combination of black and white and 12 color illustrations for Raphael Tuck. She also illustrated My Book of Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes and Hans Christian Andersen‘s stories.She created the illustrations Call of Spring and When Autumn Winds Do Blow for Raphael Tuck in 1921.

Jennie Harbour was one of the great children’s fairy tale book and postcard illustrators of the Art Deco era. Very little is known about the artist though her work is in considerable demand today, both in books and posters form.

Presenting the illustrations by Jennie Harbour for The Fairytale Gems book. First edition, published by Raphael Tuck, nd ca 1920. This is a tiny little book, folds out in accordion style with 9 illustrations in 5 panels.

Art Gallery: Jennie Harbour – Fairytale Gems 1920