''Columbia's Courtship: A Picture History of the United States in Twelve Emblematic Designs in Color with Accompanying Verses'' is an 1893 illustrated book by

Walter Crane Walter Crane (15 August 184514 March 1915) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most influential, and among the most prolific, children's book creators of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and K ...

, who made both the illustrations and the text. The twelve colored

lithographs Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

present a romantic overview of

American history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densely ...

in verse, illustrated in a

Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...

style. The lithographs are numbered with Roman numerals above text. The book was prepared for the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

and was published by

Louis Prang Louis Prang (March 12, 1824June 15, 1909) was an American printer, lithographer, publisher, and Georgist. He is sometimes known as the "father of the American Christmas card". Youth Prang was born in Breslau in Prussian Silesia. His fath ...

. ''The Norseman'' lithograph refers to

Erik the Red Erik Thorvaldsson (), known as Erik the Red, was a Norse explorer, described in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first settlement in Greenland. He most likely earned the epithet "the Red" due to the color of his hair a ...

and his journey to the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

. ''The Dutchman'' features a banner with

Leo Belgicus The Leo Belgicus (Latin for ''wikt:Belgic, Belgic Lion'') was used in both heraldry and map design to symbolize the former Low Countries (current day Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and a small part of northern France) with the shape of a lion. W ...

and emphasizes Dutch commercial penetration of North America. ''The Englishman'' lithograph presents a visual and narrative reference to the

Jamestown Colony The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement ''English Settlement'' is the fifth studio album and first double album by the English rock band XTC, released 12 February 1982 on Virgin Reco ...

. ''The Frenchman'' lithograph reflects Crane's strong support of

Irish Home Rule movement The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the e ...

, although it's unclear whether that symbolism was intentional.McKeown, pp. 487-488 The lithograph featuring other nations depicts an Irishman with harp and shamrock, the Russian, the German, the Chinese, and the African. Each is referenced by a shield on borders.

Illustrations

File:Walter Crane-Columbia's Courtship-Miss America.jpg, I (Miss America) File:Walter Crane-Columbia's Courtship-The Norseman.jpg, II (The Norseman) File:Walter Crane-Columbia's Courtship-Columbus.jpg, III (Christopher Columbus) File:Walter Crane-Columbia's Courtship-Spain Conquered.jpg, IV (Spain Conquered) File:Walter Crane-Columbia's Courtship-The Englishman.jpg, V (The Englishman) File:Walter Crane-Columbia's Courtship-The Dutchman.jpg, VI (The Dutchman) File:Walter Crane-Columbia's Courtship-The Frenchman.jpg, VII (The Frenchman) File:Walter Crane-Columbia's Courtship-other.jpg, VIII (Other nations) File:Walter Crane-Columbia's Courtship-Declaration of Independence.jpg, IX (Declaration of Independence) File:Walter Crane-Columbia's Courtship-United States.jpg, X (Personification of the United States) File:Walter Crane-Columbia's Courtship-US.jpg, XI (Personification of the United States ordering a coach) File:Walter Crane-Columbia's Courtship-Chicago.jpg, XII (Presentation of the plan for World's Columbian Exposition)

References

External links

* 1893 non-fiction books English non-fiction books History books about the United States Lithographs World's Columbian Exposition {{US-hist-book-stub