Millicent Sowerby – Illustrations for The Wise Book 1906

Millicent Sowerby was born in Northumberland, England, the daughter of designer and illustrator John G. Sowerby. Her style was clearly influenced by the famed Victorian illustrator Kate Greenaway, usually depicting innocent children at play using flat colors and strong outlines.

Sowerby was among the earliest women to illustrate Lewis Carroll‘s Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland, originally published in 1865.In 1907, the book entered the public domain in the United Kingdom, and that year at least eight new editions were published, with Sowerby’s being the first of the new lot to appear.

A collective review in The Academy of the 1907 editions – while regarding her rendition of the mad-hatter’s tea party her best illustration, and Father William replying to his son her best use of color – opined “Sowerby attempts work rather too difficult for her, and she has not much imagination”. Her artwork in Childhood, written by her sister Githa, however, was regarded as “much better” than her work in Alice: “The bistre drawings have a charming effect, and [Sowerby] has a pretty fancy.” Her illustrations of Robert Louis Stevenson‘s A Child’s Garden of Verses were received as “characteristically excellent”, and a 1911 review of three books produced with Githa proclaimed “Millicent Sowerby is Kate Greenaway come to life again.

Presenting Millicent Sowerby’s illustrations for The Wise Book, her debut book. First edition, published by J.M Dent 1906.

Art Gallery: Millicent Sowerby – The Wise Book 1906