In Vanity Fair

Vanity Fair Prints

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Vanity Fair

From 1868 until February 5, 1914, Vanity Fair, a weekly magazine of social, literary and political content, was published to the delight of Victorian and later, Edwardian England. Most popular of its features were the wonderful full page caricatures of famous men and women of the day, prints that remain Vanity Fair's great legacy. The two most famous artists who worked for Vanity Fair were "Ape" (Carlo Pellegrini) and "Spy" (Leslie Ward), but many other artists provided images for this long running series of delightful caricatures.

Early on, in response to a charge by The Daily News that Vanity Fair caricatures were devoid of humor, Thomas Gibson Bowles, founder, owner and editor until 1889, described the caricatures which appeared in his magazine; "There are grim faces made more grim, grotesque figures made more grotesque, and dull people made duller by the genius of our talented collaborator 'Ape'; but there is nothing that has been treated with a set purpose to make it something that it was not already originally in a lesser degree." To publish with these visual caricatures, Bowles also wrote the accompanying biographical commentaries under the pseudonym 'Jehu Junior.' Bowles' goal in writing these epigrams was to reflect in prose that which was presented graphically.

In addition to these enduring illustrations, Vanity Fair regularly included features such as 'Double Acrostics,' 'Doublets,' and 'Hard Cases,' all word games, as well as book and theatre reviews, financial advice columns, serialized fiction, travel reports, fictionalized exchanges of letters and special reports on the Season. Articles on such topics as political, economic and social news were standard, though as the magazine evolved, political reports were de-emphasized in favor of society news and gossip. Though often frivolous in its topics, consistency of quality in its literary reviews, and sound advice on investments in the financial columns, show that Vanity Fair was informative as well as amusing.

Each image (not including titles and margins) measures about 7 x 12" or slightly larger.

Subject Index

Table of Artist's Signatures and Names

AJM	Arthur H. Marks	Guth	Jean Baptiste Guth
Alick	Alick P.F. Ritchie	Hester	Wallace Hester
Ao or Armadillo	Roland L'Estrange	Imp	Julius Mendes Price
Ape	Carlo Pellegrini	JBP	Sir Bernard Partridge
ATN	Alfred Thompson	jmp	Julius Mendes Price
Bulbo	Sir Max Beerbohm	Jopling	Joseph Middleton Jopling
CB	Cuthbert Bradley	JTJ	James Jacques Tissot
Cecioni	Adriano Cecioni	KYO	Robert W.G.L. Braddell
CG	Francis C. Gould	LIB	Liberio Prosperi
CGD	Sir C.G. Duff	m	James Jacques Tissot
CHAM	Count Amadee de Noe	Max	Sir Max Beerbohm
Cloister	Sir C.G. Duff	Montbard or MD	Charles Auguste Loye
Coide	James Jacques Tissot	Nast	Thomas Nast
Corbold	A.C Corbold	Nemo	Constantine de Grimm
Delfico	Melchiorre Delfico	Nvy	Nevin Koshy Azkaheth
D'Epinay	Prosper Comte d'Epinay	PAL	Jean de Paleologue
Drawl	Sir Leslie Ward	Quip	Fred Whisstock
EBN	Eardley Norton	Qviz or Quizz	John Page Mellor
ELF	Luke Fildes	Ritchie	Alick Penrose Ritchie
FCG	Sir Francis Carruthers Gould	Ruth	Sir Max Beerbohm
FG	F. Goedecker	Sic	Walter Richard Sickert
FTD	F.T. Dalton	Singe	Carolo Pellegrini
Flagg	James Montgomery Flagg	Spy	Sir Leslie Ward
Furniss	Harry Furniss	Stuff or Stuff G	H.C. Seppings Wright
GAF	G.A. Fothergill	T	Theobald Chartran
G.D.G.	Godfrey Douglas Giles	VER	Francois Verheyden
Go	F. Goedecker	wag	A.G. Witherby
Gownsman	H.C. Sepping Wright	WV	W. Vine
Grimm	Constantine von Grimm

[ Subject Index ]

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