Frontispiece Illustrations

From the Latin frontispicium - a combination of frons (forehead) and specere (to look at)- a frontispiece is a decorative or informative illustration facing a book’s title page. A frontispiece is often a portrait of the author, or in the case of a biography, a portrait of the subject. For many, a frontispiece portrait was the first time a reader would see what the author looked like and helped to create cults of personality around more famous authors.

Other times the frontispiece is an illustration of a pivotal scene from the book, hinting at the story to come and enticing readers to read on. The frontispiece can serve to relay the book’s tone or themes and set the story within its appropriate time-period. This is the case for Frederic Remington’s illustrations in The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky Mountain Life. Opening with “The War Whoop” energized Parkman’s epic tale of exploration, bringing to life the majesty of the great plains and the drama of early western travel.

Similarly, the dark and dramatic frontispiece illustrations found in each volume of our Raven Edition of The Works of Edgar Allen Poe prepare readers for the mysterious, macabre, and supernatural tales that await them. 

If funds for the book’s production did not cover the cost of numerous full page illustrations, the frontispiece may be the only illustration in the book, or the only one in color. Our recently-added 1938 printing of The Jungle Book features black and white illustrations by Kurt Wiese throughout its pages, as chapter headings and full-page works.  Yet, it is his full-color frontispiece of Mogwli and Bagheera lounging in “the warm heart of the forest” that really shines. 

In other cases, a frontispiece illustration acts as a chance to highlight the work of a legendary illustrator commissioned for the work. This is certainly true for our deluxe edition of Sleeping Beauty, illustrated by Arthur Rackham. His illustrations throughout the book are almost wholly in black and white silhouette, a style he perfected in this printing. Yet the frontispiece shows off the full range of his capabilities, with Briar Rose reflected in romantic watercolor and pen illustration style, with stark silhouettes weaving along the borders of the page. 

I invite our collectors to peruse our collection of rare books, paying attention to their illuminating and enticing frontispieces.