John Harris (1756–1846) published children's books in England from the end of the 18th century to the mid-19th century, creating innovative and popular new styles. Apprenticed to Thomas Evans he found employment for a short time with John Murray before joining

John Newbery John Newbery (9 July 1713 – 22 December 1767), considered "The Father of Children's Literature", was an English publisher of books who first made children's literature a sustainable and profitable part of the literary market. He also supported ...

's publishing firm.Carpenter, Humphrey, and Mari Prichard. (1984). ''The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature''. New York: Oxford University Press. , 240-242 Harris took over Newbery's firm which had passed first to his son Francis Newbery, then to his nephew and nephew's wife.Zipes, Jack. (1987, 2013) ''Victorian Fairy Tales: The Revolt of the Fairies and Elves''. New York: Routledge np Harris had managed the firm for Elizabeth Newbery and in 1801 bought it from her, renaming in his own name. Noticing that playful books such as ''Mother Goose's Melody'' sold better than Evangelical fare, in 1805 he issued ''The Comic Adventures of Old Mother Hubbard and Her Dog'' which departed from Newbery's publications in that it was completely devoid of didacticism and was meant to amuse. The first edition of the book was illustrated with copperplate engravings, one on each page, unlike Newbery's sparse use of woodcuts, and of a relatively small size (4 inches by 5 inches). ''Mother Hubbard'' sold well and began a run of similar books such as ''Whimsical Incidents'' in 1805 followed a year later by an edition of ''

John Gilpin John Gilpin (18th century) was featured as the subject in a well-known comic ballad of 1782 by William Cowper, entitled '' The Diverting History of John Gilpin''. Cowper had heard the story from his friend Lady Austen. Gilpin was said to be ...

'' with colour illustrations. ''The Butterfly's Ball'' was published in 1807 to great success, followed by a number of similar titles as well as a few

cautionary tale A cautionary tale is a tale told in folklore to warn its listener of a danger. There are three essential parts to a cautionary tale, though they can be introduced in a large variety of ways. First, a taboo or prohibition is stated: some act, lo ...

s such as ''The Cowslip'' by Daisy Turner. In 1807 he added a series he called ''Harris' Cabinet of Amusement and Instruction'' with stories that were meant to entertain children, unlike works written by authors such as Mrs. Trimmer who wrote to instruct children. by 1809 he had a catalogue of 419 titles that he sold from his premises at

St Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

's Churchyard. Punctuation personfied

In 1819 the firm became J. Harris & Son, and at that time they began to issue newly illustrated colour editions of editions previously published without colour illustrations. The books were expensive by the standard of the time, costing "One Shilling plain and Eighteen Pence coloured". By the end of the

Regency era The Regency era of British history officially spanned the years 1811 to 1820, though the term is commonly applied to the longer period between and 1837. George III of the United Kingdom, King George III succumbed to mental illness in late 18 ...

Harris, was one of the pre-eminent publishers of children's books in London.''The Encyclopedia of Romantic Literature, Volume III''. (2012) eds. Burwick, Frederick, et al. Oxford: Blackwell. , 1472 Not all of his work was well-received and appreciated. His book of tongue twisters, published in 1820, was denigrated as "degrading trash" and the colourful illustrations he included in his publications were called by one reviewer "gaudy glare". The books, however, continued to sell well and be popular. Children's literature scholar

Jack Zipes Jack David Zipes (born June 7, 1937) is a professor emeritus of German, comparative literature, and cultural studies, who has published and lectured on German literature, critical theory, German Jewish culture, children's literature, and folklore. ...

explains that because of traditional Puritan laws against fairy tales, English publishers had to import fairy stories of French and German origin. Harris published a volume of fairy tales in 1802, ''Mother Bunch's Fairy Tales'', and in 1820 the firm published ''The Court of Oberon; or, The Temple of Fairie'' which children's literature and folklore scholar Iona Opie calls "an important volume" . Containing stories from

Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , also , ; 12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was an iconic French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales ...

Madame d'Aulnoy Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy (1650/1651 – 14 January 1705), also known as Countess d'Aulnoy, was a French author known for her literary fairy tales. When she termed her works ''contes de fées'' (fairy tales), sh ...

and ''

The Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

'', it was published the same year Taylor translated the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

's compilation of tales, ''Kinder- und Hausmärchen'' (illustrated by

George Cruikshank George Cruikshank (27 September 1792 – 1 February 1878) was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reached ...

). The firm published instructional book as well, although titles such as ''Pug's Tour Through Europe; or, The Travell'd Monkey'' "written by Himself" (1824), with verse on the lower part of page and hand-coloured illustrations, though educational, was equally a

satiric Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...

vision of "the typical gentleman's 'grand tour' of the Continent, a narrative that packages … British imperialism and cultural superiority together with satirical observations…" In the 1820s the firm turned to hand-coloured woodcuts which achieved a more colourful look than the previously produced monochromatic copperplate illustrations. In 1824, Harris turned the firm over to his son and in 1843 it was bought by Griffith and Farran. John Harris died three years later.

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External links

Works by John Harris
at

Toronto Public Library Toronto Public Library (TPL) (french: Bibliothèque publique de Toronto) is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2008 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other pu ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, John British children's book illustrators English engravers Publishing companies based in London English printers 1756 births 1846 deaths

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External links