Jessie Wilcox Smith – Illustrations for A Child’s Garden of Verses 1905

Jessie Willcox Smith (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 Weekly, Leslie’s Weekly, Harper’s, McClure’s, Scribners, and the Ladies’ Home Journal.

A Child’s Garden of Verses is a collection of poetry for children by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, a collection that concerns childhood, illness, play, and solitude.The collection first appeared in 1885 under the title Penny Whistles, but has been reprinted many times, often in illustrated versions. It contains about 65 poems, including “Foreign Children”, “The Lamplighter,” “The Land of Counterpane”, “Bed in Summer”, “My Shadow”, and “The Swing”.

Presenting the First edition of A Child’s Garden of Verses with illustrations by Jessie Wilcox Smith. Published by Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1905.

Other Jessie Wilcox Smith Illustrated Books available

• George Macdonald. At the back of the North Wind, David McKay Company, Philadelphia, 1919.

Art Gallery: Jessie Wilcox Smith – A Child’s Garden of Verses 1905