Brand images? The illustrations of Cabinet des fées in the 18th and 19th centuries

Abstract

This essay examines a series of editions published between 1823 and 1864 that reissue the title of the famous illustrated fairy tale collection, Le Cabinet des fées (1785-89). By examining the material aspects of these lesser-known editions, in particular their illustrations, it is possible to trace the development of the children’s book market during this period and broaden our view of fairy tale illustration beyond the more famous editions that have until now dominated scholarly attention. Stylistic and thematic changes (in the vision of the fairy “past”, the orientalism trend, the representation of the fantastic), driven by both cultural and technical developments, distinguish the illustrations of these editions from earlier productions. However, there is also a strong "nostalgic" tendency in many of these illustrations, which adopt visual styles from the 17th century and earlier, even though they rarely show the influence of the famous illustrations by Marillier for the 1785 edition.